He's Back
by frodoschick
Summary: It may be a new century...but an old secret lurks beneath the Paris Opera house. When a girl sings Phantom of the Opera, she brings him from hiding...and this time...events will play out to HIS satisfaction.
1. Overture

Okay...I know that this genre isn't really welcome in the Phantom category, but I just had to! Yes it is a modern tale thing-a-mabobber! I just was daydreaming while I was swimming and this popped into my head. Please don't hate me.

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Disclaimer- I own absolutely nothing. Please don't think I do.

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Dedication: I owe this to Erik. He is so sexy...get out of the way Christine!

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A different sky looked down on the Paris Opera House. For one thing, it was a totally different century. The 21st to be exact. The Opera House, however, had not lost any of it's old-world charm that had people flocking to it, not only to see the architecture, but the plays and to hear of the history. 

There were many people that still live there. They are all different, but united for a single cause. To produce the most magical performances in the world. There were many races there, and many ages. The children know were taught everything they needed to know. Math, sciences, English, French, Italian and many other things including how to act, how to build scenery and how to do anything that might need to be done.

But beneath the clean floors, bright lights and musical scores, a secret lies hidden, waiting for just the right time to revel its, or himself.

* * *

Katrina tripped over a chord as she dashed from one side of the stage to the other, dropping several plastic ivy branches and dropping to her knees painfully. It didn't help that she was wearing her work jeans, the ones with the huge gaping holes in the knees, held together with safety pins. She hurriedly gathered up the fallen branches and scooted out of the way of some of the bigger set pieces. 

It was a big night. They were doing a pretty popular opera, and the royal family from Britain was coming, along with the Prime Minister. Katrina dumped the ivy vines in the prop room. She wiped sweat from her forehead, noticing that her hair, a distinct hue of purple this week, was getting in her eyes. She whipped it up into a high ponytail with the purple/silver elastic-band that she always kept on her wrist. She hurried backstage, only to find herself confronting the director, a mountain of a man, Monsieur Hedgecliff.

"What do you think you're doing?" he bellowed. "We're moving the scenery! Get your sorry a-- to your post!"

She saluted, then dashed off to the line that would move the backdrop to the top of the rafters. She looked across the stage, looking for the familiar chubby face of Matthew. She saw it and nodded curtly. Then she started to heave on the line. Slowly, but gaining speed, it went up. As it went, Katrina listened to the big star of tonight's performance, Valerie VanGetz. She was some big star from the stages of the courts and the American stages. She was supposed to be quite good.

'C_he-yah...maybe once upon a time...like, one million years ago..._' Katrina thought as Valerie hit a high sour note and held it, as Monsieur Hedgecliff cooed at her. Katrina winced as Valerie hit an even higher, and much sourer, note. She noticed that the rope wouldn't move when she heaved on it. She looked up. The backdrop was in position. She quickly tied the rope into a double-wedge knot, then dashed up the stairs to the rafters. She could only hope that Matthew was on his way.

When she reached the balcony that the backdrop rested beneath, waiting for the ropes that would secure it. Matthew, of course, was no-where in sight. She growled, then bent in her task. As she finished tying up the first set of ropes, she thought that she heard a foot-fall behind her. She turned, but there was no-one there, not even a resident bat. She shrugged, then tightened the knot aggressively.

'_Oh yeah, bucko, Matthew, you have put yourself into the biggest crap pile, and that excuse better be great!_' she thought as one of the ropes slipped out of her hand. She reached for it, and just as she snagged it, she felt herself start to tip forward.

"Ohmigod-!" she started, just as she felt someone grab her shirt. "It's about time, Lard-Butt! Haul me up now!" As she was pulled to safety, she scolded. "You have some nerve, leaving me up here, and that excuse of yours-" The words died on her lips when she saw who it was. "Oh-h, Orry. Hey."

Orry grinned, and pulled her over the edge, to safety. He then sat on the ground, crossed his arms and just looked at her. The silence was awkward at the very least. She finished tying off the second restraining ropes, then sat and looked at him. "Well?" he finally said.

"Well...what?" she asked, blushing ever so slightly.

"Well, what do you mean by yelling at me?" he asked grinning.

"I, um...thought that you were...ummmmm...Matthew. He's supposed to be helping me and well...he's not very helpful."

Orry just laughed, then lay on his stomach and started to tie the last restraint.

"Hey, that's my job!" she protested, trying to swat him out of the way, an impossible feat, as Orry was 6'8".

"Well, I'm doing it because I want to talk to you, and you won't talk until jobs are done." he said, starting to tie the knot.

"True, true." she said, sitting back and enjoying a few seconds of silence, as she watched Orry get the job done faster than she ever could. He then stood up, dusted off the front of his black shirt, then sat down again.

"So," he began, leaning against a support beam, "What's with the hair?"

"Oh," she said, tugging at a few strands that had come loose, "I change it every week. It matches my favorite color for the week."

"I'll bet it's never pink."

Katrina shuddered. "God forbid. So when did you get back from Versailles?"

"An hour or so ago." he replied. They spent the next half-hour sitting and chatting. Matthew came up at some point, but Katrina chewed him out so bad that he went back down, red-faced. As they finally fell silent, Katrina heard the five-o-clock bells from the church. She leapt up, panic-stricken.

"Ohmigod! Everyone will be arriving in an hour!" she cried. "I have to eat, get in my costume, and get in position!" She started off.

"You have a part?" asked Orry, unable to believe it. Valerie was so picky.

"No. Miss. Valerie VanGetz, Everything-Must-Be-Perfect-Or-I-Will-Die-Of-Shame insisted that the ushers all wear costumes that matched the production."

"So? What are you wearing?"

Katrina gritted her teeth. "A fairy-princess costume."

"Purple?"

"Pink..." He started to laugh. "Shut up." she snarled, moving again to the ladder. "What am I doing?" she muttered, coming back. "I need to take the new way down."

"The new way?" asked Orry, wiping his eyes with the back of a hand. "What new-?" That's as far as he got before Katrina took a running leap and leaped off of the balcony. "What the h---?" he yelled, running to the edge. Looking over it, he saw her clinging to a pole and whizzing down. He shook his head as she hit a piling of soft stuff below, then leaped up and dashed off.

'_She's still the daredevil of the Opera House then._' he thought, starting down the normal way. '_When did she come up with that?_'

* * *

Later that night, Katrina scratched at a itch that had been building up all night in her tights that had rhinestones glittering in so many places. 

"Only forty more minutes..." she muttered. "Only forty more minutes...I can do this..." she muttered, then she caught sight of herself in a full-length mirror. Bright pink fairy dress, pink slippers, her hair was curled and had glitter worked through it. Plus way too much glittery make-up and rhinestones. And the wings were giant white gauzy things with...what else?...pink glitter all over.

"I can't do this...I can't do this!" she cried, scratching at her neck, arms and head. Madame Yowling smacked her hand away as she passed. Katrina bowed respectfully, but as soon as Yowling turned, went back to scratching. She then stared at her nails, which had been scrapped clean of her Hot-Date nail-polish and re-polished with Tickle-Me-Pink. She was drowning in the hated pink.

"You doing alright?' asked Orry, who had appeared out of no-where, supporting a black cape that went with his back-stage outfit. He looked so dashing in it.

"Neat cape. I-am-about-to-die...I swear." she moaned, collapsing into a chair and putting a hand to her forehead. He sat next to her, relaxing from running around like a chicken with his head cut off. Suddenly, Liana, their friend, came up.

"'Ello, Orry. It iz nice to see you 'ere again." she batted her eyes a few seconds longer than necessary.

"Hello yourself, Liana. Nice to see you too. Versailles was magnificent. I wish you could have seen it. By the way, what are you dressed as?"

Liana smiled. "A vater-sprite. I thought zat it vas cute." She tugged at the top layer of blue gauze and sparkles. She had blue and green ribbons intertwined through her braids, and a crown of water lilies upon her head.

"So, what are we gonna do about the prank tonight?" asked Orry, leaning in as Liana swept away, miffed that he wouldn't pay anymore attention to her.

"I have no idea." said Katrina bluntly, scratching at her itches again. "What were you thinking of?"

"Well, you know how we sound together when we sing...so...why don't we sing what we've been practicing?" he asked, his grey-green eyes sparkling.

"Should we? You do know what they say about those songs." replied Katrina, leaning in as well. She glanced around, no-one was paying attention to her or Orry.

"Yeah, tonight's a good night, a full moon's out." he grinned. "Besides, you've never cared about rumors before, so why start now?"

"Orry, those rumors are different and you know it." she hissed. Those songs were strictly forbidden at the Opera Populaire. It had something to do with it's history...there was something about a fire...and...rumors surrounding rumors. It was just so complicated.

"Great, that settles it! We sing after Act II." he said. "I'll bring you something more suitable for the piece."

"But-!"

"See ya!" he dashed off as Katrina smote her forehead with her palm. '_Idiot..._' she thought viciously. '_I hope nothing goes wrong later..._'

* * *

After Act II, Katrina stood in front of everyone with Orry on her left. He nodded. She gulped. '_Well, here goes nothing..._' she thought as she startd to sing. 

"_In sleep he sang to me,  
In dreams he came,  
That voice which calls to me,  
And speaks my name,  
And do I dream again?  
For now I find  
The Phantom of the Opera is there,  
Inside my mind..._"

When she had started, there had been several gasps, even a few mutters, but as she sang, everyone went quiet. Orry took his cue, taking her hand in the same movement.

"_Sing once again with me  
Our strange duet  
My power over you  
Grows stronger yet.  
And though you turn from me  
to glance behind  
The Phantom of the Opera is there  
Inside your mind..._"

He lead her through the crowd, which parted like fish before a shark. All doubts were erased from her mind as the music took over her soul and helped her to sing with pride.

"_Those who have seen your face  
Draw back in fear  
I am the mask you wear..._"

"_It's me they hear!_" sang Orry, every inch the Phantom. They sang together in perfect harmony...

"_My/Your spirit and my/your voice  
In one combined  
The Phantom of the Opera is there  
inside my/your mind..._"

"_Is that the Phantom of the Opera?  
Beware the Phantom of the Opera_!" yelled a person from the audience, most likely one of the Opera Populaire's own. Katrina ignored them, only having eyes for Orry.

"_In all your fantasies you always knew  
That man and mystery..._" Orry sang, leading her to the gigiantic grand staircase. They stopped at the bottom, and sang for a few more bars.

"_Were both in you..._"

"_And in this labrinth  
Where night is blind  
The Phantom of the Opera is here/there_!"

"_Inside my mind..._" Orry began to lead her up the stairs, slowly, dragging out the last parts of the songs. Orry almost whispered...

"_Sing, my Angel of Music_!"

"_He's there,  
the Phantom of the Opera ..._" sang Katrina, then she started those high notes that were so famous. She heard several gasps of admiration and jealously, one definately had a Valerie accent. They had reached the top. They stepped into the center of a circle of marble that was there. When she hit the last note, Orry hit a hidden button, sending them down the trapdoor.

Several people screamed, and several more dashed up the stairs to see what had happened. But the trapdoor closed almost as soon as they had vanished through it, and they could hear the amazed comments that were flying about. Orry and Katrina had a massive giggling fit in the hidden room. But as they were leaving...Katrina heard something...something that Orry did not say...it seemed to come from the very walls...

"_Come to your Angel of Music..._"


	2. The Catacombs

Thanks to the people who reviewed. That was so sweet!!

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Dedicated to Erik! I love you ssooooooo much!

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Deisclaimer-...I do not own POTO...I wish I did...I would own Erik...

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"Katrina...!" called a voice outside of her surprisingly nice dream about ice-cream and candy clouds and a hot, hot, hot HOT guy. 

"Go 'way!" she sleep-mumbled, turning over and bringing her blankets above her head.

"Katrina." Orry said, banging softly on her door. "Valarie and Monsieur Hedgecliff wanted us in their office twenty minutes ago!"

"I can sleep in 'till noon today!" shouted Katrina. She then muttered something rude. Orry snorted.

"Com'n! I got breakfast!" he shouted. He waited a few seconds. Bumps, thuds and bangs echoed from the room, along with several oaths and curses. The door flew open, and she stood there, in jeans, a purple shirt with a yin-yang sign in white on it and a pair of sandals. Her hair (still it's shocking purple) was tugged up in a messy ponytail and her eyes were burning with internal fire.

"Give...me...breakfast." she said. Orry shook his head, holding out a muffin and a can of Diet Coke.

"You have to come get it!" he said teasingly, turning and running down the corridor. Katrina growled. She knew that he knew that if he handed over the breakfast, she slam the door and lock it. And it was her favorite too! With another growl, she took off chasing him. As she dashed down corridors, she almost ran into several people, dodging them at the last moment. Soon she caught sight of Orry, whipping around a corner with the coveted muffin in his hands.

"You cannot run forever, Sir Gawain!" she bellowed, whirling around the corner and diving. She hit him around the knees and brought him to the ground. "Your muffin stealing days are over, thou cowardly knave!" she bellowed, wrestling to grab the muffin from his hands.

"Thou shalt never have the Holy Muffin of Antioch!" shouted Orry, holding it easily above her head. "I shall-!"

"ORRY! KATRINA!" screeched a certain off-key soprano voice almost right beside their ears. "That is undignified behavior for a young man and woman to be participating in! Anyway, you are late!" snarled Valarie, slamming Monsieur Hedgecliff's office door closed.

Sheepishly, they untangled themselves and stood. Orry handed her the muffin and Coke. They walked in, Katrina snarfing her muffin and Coke. Valarie was sitting in one of the many plushy arm-chairs, talking earnestly with Hedgecliff. Madame Yowling was also there. When they entered, Hedgecliff looked up, his watery, piggy blue eyes glaring peevishly at them.

"Sit." he snapped. They sat. He stood, reading some papers. Katrina slowly began to pick at the pink-polish on her nails, hoping to pick it off. Yowling smacked her hand away. She scowled at her.

"You two are in serious trouble." stated Hedgecliff, putting down his notes and staring at them. "Those songs are strictly forbidden within the Opera House. Yet...yet you sang them. This is more than serious."

"He will come after me!" cried Valarie, who had obviously not slept the night before judging by the bags under her eyes. "After all, I am the star!" She began to weep.

"Oh, Valarie, darling, please, don't weep." cried Hedgecliff, producing a giant red handkerchief out of a drawer in his desk. He handed it to her, and she blew her nose.

"I demand punishment!" she cried, looking hatefully at Katrina and Orry.

"Of course." said Hedgecliff, patting her on the shoulder. Katrina stole a look at Orry. He met her glance and shrugged.

"I demand that I set the punishment!" she cried passionately.

"Yes," said Hedgecliff, stroking her hair. Orry rolled his eyes, making Katrina smother a giggle.

"I demand that they go to the catacombs and make sure that he hasn't come back!"

"WHAT?" Four voices cried, Katrina and Orry's the loudest. Valarie glared at Hedgecliff, then at Katrina and Orry..

"Make them go down to the catacombs and search for him. They are not to return until dinner tonight."

"I-I-I can't do that-" stammered Hedsgecliff, sweating slightly.

"Why not?" she screeched. "They deserve it! Make them search the catacombs!"

"Madame Valarie. This punishment that you request is almost impossible. The catacombs are rotting, falling apart. Gasses, molds and rats run amok down there. It is unsafe and unhealthful." stated Madame Yowling with calm dignity.

"I don't care!" screamed Valarie, throwing an old volume of music across the room. "They will GO!" Just as she was about to pitch the biggest screaming fit of all time, Orry stood.

"Katrina and I will gladly go down there." he said. "If it will put your mind at rest." He took Katrina by the arm, and lifting her out of the chair, escorted her out.

* * *

"Got everything?" called Orry, banging on Katrina's door for the second time that day. 

"Almost! Come in while I find my boots!" He gently opened the door, and looked in. It was a small room, no more than 6'x6'. (Six feet by six feet) The ceiling height was just about seven, so it was fine for him to stand in. The floor was taken up with clothes, books and stuffed animals. A tool belt hung from one of the several pegs on one of the walls. The walls were painted a black with decorations of solar systems, stars and planets painted in several bright colors. She had a small closet that she kept her better things in, like her Christmas dress, the ball gown, and the other costumes that had been given to her over the years. There were a bunch of dried roses hanging above her bed from a string on the ceiling. Pink, white, yellow, several purples, but only a few reds.

Katrina was digging through her closet, gently shifting aside the hems of the fancy dresses, searching for her combat boots. A purple backpack was thrown carelessly on her bed, stuffed with several flashlights, some prepackaged food, her favorite blue work-gloves, waters and extra batteries. She herself was wearing her oldest pair of jeans, faded and torn, her oldest shirt, paint-splattered and faded, and a baseball cap from her pen-pal in the USA.

Orry sat gingerly on the bed, avoiding the backpack at all costs. "Be ready in a second!" she said, her head buried in her closet. She emerged with a piece of lace sticking to her ponytail. "Sheeesh, where are they?"

Orry felt his foot kick something under the bed, and he pulled out her black combat boots with the teal lacings. "I found them."

"Yay!" she said, grabbing them from him. "Thank you so much! Where were they?" He pointed under the bed.

"You were brave enough to put your hand down there?" she asked, eyebrows raised. He rolled his eyes. She dropped down to the floor, avoiding several stuffed animals and a food wrapper. She started lacing up her shoes. "I got what I was supposed to get. Did you?"

"Yep." he said, pulling it from his own backpack. "All of the blueprints of the catacombs dating back to 1850."

"Sweet! Are we ready to venture out into the great unknown yet?"

"Yeah...as soon as you get that lace out of your hair." She started, then reached up and snagged the lace.

"I wonder what costume it came from..." she said, taking it back to the closet. On her way over, she tripped over Moo-Moo the hippo, and fell into her closet. "Ow!" she cried as her fingers slammed against the back paneling. She sat there for a few minutes massaging her fingers, not paying any attention to the echoes of her shout as they traveled down the unknown secret passage behind her closet...down...down...down...to where the sun never shone...down to where the dripping of water was commonplace...down to the previously unoccupied catacombs...

* * *

"So where do we have to enter?" asked Katrina, adjusting her heavy backpack. She shoved her hair up tighter underneath her New York Yankees baseball cap nervously. 

"According to these blueprints, the old dressing room." stated Orry, glancing at a sheft of blue paper in his hand.

"There are many old dressing rooms." retorted Katrina, whacking him upside the head with the flat of her hand. "Too many, in fact."

"You know which one I'm talking about." he snapped, swatting her as well. "The one that's always locked."

"Oh." she said. "That one. You don't have the key."

He swung it in front of her nose. "I swiped it from Hedgecliff's filing cabinet." They stepped down into a forgotten hallway, and halfway down it, was a door, painted a faded pink. Katrina sniffed the air.

"Is it just me, or does it smell smoky down here?"

"Some of the actors and singers come down here to puff a joint." said Orry, going up to the door.

"How did you know that?" demanded Katrina, giving him a curious glance.

"I joined them." He caught sight of Katrina's outraged and disgusted face. He laughed. "I kid! I kid! It'd ruin my gorgeous voice bent for Versailles!"

"Egotistical, idiotic soprano." she muttered. "You don't get water for an hour for that."

"You know I'm a bass."

"That's besides the point!"

_Click!_

Orry swung the door open. A dark interior greeted them. Orry felt for a light switch. He fumbled for a few moments, before Katrina snapped on a flashlight, and shone it into the room.

"It's so old, they didn't even install electric lighting in here." she said, stepping inside. Her feet crunched on something. She looked down. It was an old rose...you could still see the old vibrant red that it once upon a time had been. There was a black ribbon tied around it...

Her flashlight lit upon several burned out candle stubs, and more dried out roses in vases whose water had long ago disappeared. The wallpaper was a faded pink/gold combination. Mirrors...there were a lot of mirrors. There were several boxes in a corner with shoes, perfume bottles and things that might have once upon a time been candies.

Orry stole a flashlight out of her backpack, and flipped it on. "Man, looks like...nobody came back..." he said. "Someone left and never came back. See?" he said, pointing the beam of light at a dressing table next to a mirror. There was a brush, a comb, a box of ribbons, a box of jewels and a box of make-up. "They were getting ready for a show. There's even an old bottle of wine. It was opened...Phew!"

"What's that?" asked Katrina, shining her light at the farthest mirror. It stood like a giant in the room, it's gold frame touching the ceiling and a step or two leading up to it. "It's beautiful..." she whispered, delicately touching its intertwined gold and silver designs. A small dark space glinted between the frame and the mirror. She cautiously put her fingers in the opening and drew open the mirror.

"It's a concealed doorway..." said Orry, studying the mechanics. "And it still works..."

"It's also two-way..." whispered Katrina, standing behind it and looking through it to the dressing room, her flashlight cutting through the darkness like a hot knife through butter. "I can see you..."

"Like that doesn't sound slightly ominous." he said, moving out from in front of the mirror. He stepped into the passageway with her, and shone his light down the dark hallway. "Well, we have a long way to go and much to see."

"That sounds so cliche." she snapped, adjusting her backpack onto a better position on her back. "Ready?" she asked, starting to step out into the great beyond.

"Lead the way." he answered smirking.

* * *

_Much later..._

* * *

"You know, it's pretty surprising that these stairs have lasted this long." said Katrina, sitting on a ledge that was connected to a small sitting area off of the main stairs. She looked down, seeing how far down she could see. The light from the one flashlight was weak and only lit their small sphere of rest. 

"It is pretty surprising." agreed Orry, biting into a muffin and chewing. "Yowling said that it was rotting away down here."

"Maybe she just meant the first passageway." Katrina shuddered slightly at the memory of the mold infested walls and floors of the passageway out of the dressing room.

"Maybe..." Orry inhaled the rest of his muffin. "I wonder what the artifacts we found are worth."

"You mean like that old box that turned to dust when you touched it? Or that torch that seemed to be still warm? Or that music box that played that nice tune?"

"Any and all. And I swear that torch was warm..."

"It wasn't. How could it when nobody's been down here in over a century?"

Orry shrugged, getting up. "Well, shall we continue?"

"Why not? I'm bored." She jumped down.

"What? Of sitting there, or from running around down here without much to go by?"

"It's your fault that the maps were wrong." she snapped, grabbing up her backpack and heaving it up on her shoulder with a grunt.

"Oh, like I drew those maps." he said, grinning widely.

"Shut your big mouth." she said peevishly. "I'm getting tired. What time is it?"

"Only about five minutes after you last asked me."

"The time...?"

"Sigh...4:25." he muttered, stepping down into the stairway, which still spiraled downwards with no end in sight. He felt a shiver go down his spine. Were those eyes he felt on the back of his neck...? Impossible, there was no-one besides himself and Katrina on the stairs, and the only thing behind him were steps and stones.

"Shouldn't we have started back a long time ago?" asked Katrina, rubbing her sore leg muscles. She was getting really tired. She started down the stairs, but suddenly stopped. She tilted her head. She had heard something...

"Did you hear that?" she asked, staring down into the abyss, eyes wide and frightened. Orry stepped up to her, watching her. She suddenly took off down the stairs, skidding on loose gravel and masonry.

"Katrina!" he cried, starting after her. "What the-?" He heard her feet pounding down the stairs, and heard her cry out.

"KATRINA!" he bellowed, galloping down the stairs, suddenly coming to the end of the steps and onto a landing like a grand hall in a palace somewhere. He saw her a few feet away, her flashlight had fallen, throwing into sharp relief the thing that had frightened her.

The skeleton of a horse.

"Katrina..." he gasped, trying to let his breath and heartbeat catch up with him. "What in bloody hell were you thinking?"

"I heard something...like a footfall upon the stair..."

"...'And there was nothing there' like that spooky story I told at the retreat. Nice try..."

"No, I'm serious. I heard something. What's a horse skeleton doing down here?" She was almost frantic, waving her arms about like a windmill. Orry smiled.

"Skeletons can't hurt you." he said calmly, picking up her flashlight, and returning it to her. Then his ears pricked. _He heard something too...like the splashing of a oar into a still lake..._

"Tell me I didn't imagine that!" she said, tensing up.

"Do we dare go investigate...?" asked Orry, his eyes shining with the prospect of a challenge. Katrina didn't answer, instead she started down the hallway, her flashlight beam shaking a little. Orry fell in step behind her. They procceded down a corridor that led to a sloping hill-like ramp. When they reached the end of that, there was a river going through...

"A river..." whispered Katrina, afraid to talk above that. Their flashlights lit only a small section, but they could see the glitter of the water going off between an old Gothic arch. Orry bent down and stared at the water. It was slimy and murky. Strange things floated just underneath the surface.

"Well, here goes nothing..." he said, about to put his foot down in the water.

"What in Hades are you doing?" yelled Katrina. "That water's nasty and decrepit!"

"How else do you suggest finding out where-?" started Orry, his foot frozen inches above the water.

"A boat, duh!"

"And where is a boat?" he said, eyebrows rasied.

"Ummm..." A slight splashing sound came from their left. Katrina whipped around, her flashlight lighting up a boat that was moored a few feet from them. They stared at it for a few moments.

"That wasn't there." said Orry, standing up. "It wasn't there." He approached it. It gently bumped against the embankment, urgeing them on. "It's a punt boat..."

"Who cares what kind of boat it is? There's nothing down here."

"Then what made that noise?"

"Rats. There's millions of the filthy things down here." Orry gave her a look. "What?"

"We're investigating. How can we come all the way down here and not see what is beyond the lake?"

"Easily. We walk away." Orry rolled his eyes and stepped into the boat. He swayed for a few moments, but soon gained his balance. He looked up at her.

"Well? You coming?" She growled, then jumped down, landing gracefully in the boat. She brushed off a seat, then sat, her arms crossed as Orry took the punt pole and started them off down the water-filled corridor.

With her flashlight shining ahead, the water sparkled as ripples spread from the slow, steady movement of the boat. Orry began to hum, and in a few seconds, she recognized the tune.

"Shut up!" she hissed. "Not down here, you idiot!" He glared at her but stopped. Soon, they turned a corner, and found themselves on the edge of a large lake. Something shone from her flashlight beam as they neared the opposite shore. As the boat nosed against the slightly raised bank, Katrina leaped out, shining her flashlight all over the place.

_Mirrors...broken mirrors..._

And a whisper of a song...

"_Remember me...think of me fondly..._"

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Thank you for reading...I hope that you will push the little blue/purple button and review... 


	3. Angel of Music

Wow...lotsa people reviewed...thanks!!

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Dedication- To Lady Saint VII. She left the longest review!!

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Disclaimer-I own nothing Phantom-y at all...

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_Early-ish the Next Morning..._

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Katrina stood in the slow moving breakfast line, eyes drooping, head hanging. With a massive yawn, she swiped a banana-nut muffin from a tray, then a mug of milk. She sat with Orry, Liana, and JT at their usual table. She immediately slumped down and closed her eyes. 

"Katrina, are you alright?" asked Liana, poking her in the elbow.

"Huh...?" Kat muttered, her eyes blearily opening a fraction.

"That trip yesterday took a lot out of you." said JT, his gorgeous blue eyes full of concern. "Maybe you should stay home today from your school."

"I..._yawn_...can't." muttered Katrina. "I've got two tests, a presentation in Drama, an Animanga Mime meeting to go to, and-"

"And, you are staying home." ordered Orry, glaring at her.

"Make me." she growled, lifting her head long enough to glare at him. He stood up, looking down at her with hooded lids. She just continued to glower at him. As soon as she had stepped foot into the dressing room where their mission had begun, she had collapsed on the floor, passed out. Orry had to carry her all the way back to her bedroom. How could he not be tired?! What, was he undead or something? "I'm not..AH-AWN...!"

"Yes you are." said Liana, grabbing her by the elbow and jerking her up. She started walking her back to her room, Katrina protesting all the way.

"I don't go to Opera school! I go to the one down-town with Orry!! I have to go!! Monsieur Davis will kick my a--!! I-"

"Listen, Kat. You need to stay 'ome. It iz not 'ealthy. Bezides, I personally will go to your school and get your make-up work." Liana thrust her into her room, and slammed the door behind her. Katrina sat on her bed, muttering and grumbling. But soon, she fell asleep, her shoes still on and her head collapsing on her pillow.

Just as she entered that phase between sleep and wakefulness, a voice started talking to her. She was more than half-asleep, so she thought it was part of her dream.

"Hello." it was a soft voice, speaking as though the person was afraid of frightening her off.

"Hi..." she mumbled back, sleepily. "Who are you...?"

"My name is Erik. I live here." Katrina saw a farm-house in her sleep, with a young farmer's boy standing out there. She smiled.

"Hi Erik. My name's Katrina." The farmer boy smiled. She was slipping deeper and deeper into her sleep.

"I heard you sing the other night." the voice remarked. Katrina wondered slightly why the boy wasn't speaking even though she heard a voice. "You-"

"Katrina!" shouted a very familiar Madame Yowling voice from outside of her dream, accompanied by a pounding on her door. "Monsieur Davis is on the phone for you!" Katrina instantly opened her eyes, and got up. She made her way to the door, pushing past stuffed animals and old books. She opened the door, and Madame Yowling handed her the cordless phone.

"'Ello?" she said, her voice struggling to swallow a yawn.

"Where are you?!" snapped Monsieur Davis's voice on the other end. "School started fifteen minutes ago! Your presentation is TODAY!"

"I'm really sorry sir." she said, managing to make a pathetic cough. "You see, I'm sick at the moment..."

"Oh..." Davis's voice instantly dropped a couple of notches. "I see. Well, I can move your presentation to tomorrow. Is that alright?"

"Yes." she said weakly. Madame Yowling rolled her eyes. "I should be back at school tomorrow. I'll see you then, sir."

"Get well soon, Kat." he said, hanging up the phone. Katrina handed the phone back to Yowling.

"Tell me again why you moved to this room? Why don't you live in the dormitories?"

"Because." said Katrina, closing the door in her face. She walked back to her bed, this time pulling off her shoes. She dove underneath the covers and fell asleep almost instantly.

A shadow within the shadows smiled. He would continue this conversation later...

* * *

_At 3:00 That Afternoon..._

* * *

Orry knocked gently on Katrina's door. He heard nothing from within. He tried the knob. It was locked. 

_'That's odd...'_ he thought. He tried it again, with the same result. He then banged on the door, resulting in silence once more.

"Katrina!" he shouted, knocking even louder. Still no answer. "Ugh...where's the Madame?" he wondered, turning away to find Yowling, who had the keys to every door.

"Orry?' said a sleep-muffled voice from behind him. "What is it?" He turned back to see Katrina standing in the doorway, looking a little worse for the wear.

"Dude, you've got major bed-head." he laughed, pointing at her hair.

"Shut up." she muttered, about to slam the door in his face. He had woken her up from a very pleasant dream in which she was talking over coffee with a mysterious guy in black. His name was, apparently, Erik. He said that he lived in the Opera House, so she might be able to see him sometime. She did wonder what that meant...Orry placed his foot against the door, keeping it open.

"SO-o-O-o...will we be graced with your presence at rehearsal today?" he asked, keeping his tone light. The J.O.P.s (**J**unior **O**pera **P**layers) were putting on the highly popular musical, "Into the Woods". Orry was the Baker, and Katrina was one of the Ugly Stepsisters. (She wanted to be the Witch, but that went to the queen of the J.O.P.s, Rosanna.)

"If you don't come bearing food, I'm not interested." she said, swiping the hair out of her eyes. She snapped it up in a ponytail and sighed. "Yeah, I guess so."

Orry laughed, and turned down the corridor. "Hey, if you want food that badly, I've got some pre-packaged stuff that came from my parents in America. Come down to my dorm and I might share."

"I might just take you up on that!" she shouted, closing the door and starting to get ready for the rehearsal that day. She grabbed her practice costume, and the character shoes. She tried to straighten up her room a bit before giving up entirely. She finally grabbed her IPod, and opened her door.

There, on the doorstep, sat a tray of food; muffins, fruit, a ham sandwich, and two cans of Coke. She stared at the tray for a minute. Then she looked up and down the hall. There was nobody. She bent down and picked up a muffin. A small note fell off the bottom of it. Before it fluttered to the ground, Katrina snatched it out of the air. She opened the extremely complicatedly folded note, and read in a spidery handwriting...

"_Enjoy this after your long sleep, Kat. Erik_" She looked up and down the halls again. Still no-one.

"That was nice of him." she said, smiling. "Erik may not be so bad." She placed the muffin back on the tray and picked it up. She carried it to the rehearsal, and sat there for the first fifteen minutes stuffing her face. Rosanna and her cronies, (meaning practically every single girl and several of the boys) stared at her. Rosanna giggled.

"Why is she stuffing her face again? It's not like she needs the extra calories, right?" She giggled again, and everyone joined in. Orry came by in his baker's hat and sat next to Kat, who was taking a gulp of Coke. She offered him one of her muffins. He accepted, laughing.

Suddenly, Monsieur Hedgecliff and Madame Yowling both clapped their hands at the same time. "Today, we will begin from the Witch's solo, "Stay With Me". Alright? PLACES!!" bellowed Hedgecliff, and everyone scurried to their places. Katrina sat back-stage and stuffed her IPod into her ears, as she was no longer in the production. (Her character only appeared in the first act.) She scrolled down to her "Into the Woods" segment on her albums and started to hum along to "Hello, Little Girl".

Orry watched as Rosanna kept failing miserably on the stage. She just couldn't hunch right and she was too gentle sounding. Yowling and Hedgecliff were both ready to strangle her.

"It's not my fault!" Rosanna whined. "I'd much rather be Cinderella!"

"Unfortunately, we cast you as the Witch. So...BE THE WITCH!" Suddenly, strains of the correct "Stay With Me" echoed from backstage. Someone was singing it with just the right amount of witchiness. Yowling and Hedgecliff both conferenced for a moment, then Yowling headed backstage. She came out a few seconds later, dragging Katrina by the wrist.

"That...was you?" Hedgecliff asked, incredulously. Katrina nodded, scared. He whipped off Rosanna's rehearsal witch hat, and jerked it on Katrina's head. He then motioned to Cinderella. (Her real name was Claudine Farjeon). She came up with a sigh, as she was quite sure that they would be yelling at her about her character again. She just wasn't nice enough, or pretty enough, or even using the right dance steps. She didn't want the pressure of doing another main role. She was sick of it.

"Claudine, you are now Kat's Ugly Stepsister. Rosanna, you are now Cinderella. Trade books and learn the right choreography by Friday!" he shouted, gesturing grandly. "We will still be holding rehearsals! Get moving! Kat, the "Stay With Me" solo, NOW!"

Katrina immediately jumped to where Rapunzel (played by Leona Phyllis) knelt on the ground. She started singing with just what everyone had been looking for.

A person knelt on the catwalk. He watched rehearsals with a critical eye. Since the parts had been recast, the show was going so much smoother. That Rosanna girl was much better suited in Cinderella's role. Kat...was perfect for the Witch. Why did it take them so long to recognize her talent? Then again...it took those idiotic managers forever to realize that his Angel was perfect...especially since he had trained her personally.

He listened to Kat's voice, echoing up to him. He smiled. That voice was almost as good as his Angel's once was...almost...

* * *

Katrina came down the corridor to her room, singing and dancing, hugging the Witch's prompt book to her chest, feelings of hope, happiness and joy flooding her system all at once. 

"_Greens, greens and nothing but greens:  
Parsley, peppers, cabbages and celery,  
Asparagus and watercress and  
Fiddleferns and lettuce-!_" She suddenly stopped dancing and looked at a piece of paper sticking out of the wall. It looked like...another note! Excited, she snatched it out of the crack in the wall and stood there struggling to open it.

"How does he-Ah!" she finally freed the corner that unraveled the entire thing. She opened it, and read in the now familiar spidery handwriting...

"_Hello, Kat. Congratulations on getting the part that you dreamed of. I noticed your singing and you are quite good, exceptional even. If you wish to become even better and maybe obtain the lead role of Anna in the "King and I" that the J.O.P.s are doing next, then perhaps you would like more lessons. I am rather good at teaching. Perhaps I could help you...if you would like. Erik._"

She giggled a bit, then tucked the note into her pants pocket. She then rushed to her room, as she had all new choreography to learn, new lines to learn (not that she didn't already have them memorized) and homework. Sometimes she regretted not going to Opera school, but the school downtown had a better Literature department and better math teachers. She was also involved in two clubs and was inducted into the International Thespian Society.

She closed her door behind her and threw her new notebook on her bed. She spun around her room, humming the opening lines happily. She stopped humming when she picked her school pack up. She looked at it disgustedly, then with a sigh of resignation, she plucked out her history homework and grabbed her textbook. She plopped down on her desk chair (after clearing her school clothes off) and attempted to finish up her homework. Fifteen minutes into it, she got so annoyed that she threw her textbook across the room. She sat there, glowering for a few minutes. Then she slowly stood up and picked up her book. She grabbed her paper off her desk. She left her room, and started down the hall to the boy's dormitory.

"I hate history..." she muttered, practically stomping down the hall. A few more steps and she stopped. She turned around. There was no-one there. But...she had felt someone watching her from behind. She looked around furtively. There was no-one there or such. She started down the hall again. There it was again! She distinctly felt someone watching her. She whipped around, her eyes flying about the hall. Still no-one. That was creepy.

She started walking faster down the hallway, hoping that the feeling wouldn't come again. But it did. She tried to ignore it, but she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was staring at her intensely from behind. She turned a corner and started to jog. The eyes followed. She slid around a corner and skidded to a stop outside of the boy's dormitory. She banged on the door, slightly panicked.

"What?" snapped Orry, opening the door. His now vivid green eyes softened when he saw it was her. "Oh, need help with history?" He stood back and let her in. Several boys whistled and cat-called. She rolled her eyes and bit her thumb at them. Laughing, they resumed their tasks.

"Yeah, I'm just not good at this." she sat, sitting on his bed. She quickly stood up after hearing the rustle and crinkle of papers. She looked down at them, curious. She saw the quadratic formula and several cross-outs and revisions. "Help me with this, and I'll help you with math."

"Deal." he said, laughing. She grabbed his math papers, he grabbed her history papers. They spent the next hour doing each others' homework. Soon, Orry brought out the pre-packaged chips and cookies that his parents sent over. Katrina almost instantly dug into the BBQ flavored ones.

As they laughed and talked, jealous eyes watched them from above...

* * *

_The Next Day...in the Catacombs..._

* * *

_"Hey Erik!! You doin' alright? I'm OK...history is such a major bummer! I can't grasp it and it's sooo boring. And, thank you for your kind gift of food yesterday. I really needed that after sleeping for so long. About singing in "The King and I", I would love to. Do you really think I could? I would be forever in your debt. I'm just so sick of watching Rosanna, Valerie and so many others do things that don't fit them because they are popular. If you can help me knock them off their perches, then I would love you forever!! Talk to ya later...Kat._" 

He folded the note gently and placed it in a box on his desk. His eyes scanned the piles of composed music, the pens and inkwells. His eyes fell on the weakness next to him...the only reason he had to hide...the only reason why he hid himself from the world. That pure white mask...He looked back at the box, mentally picturing the note with a small speck of hope daring to blossom in his heart. She had the same eyes as his Angel...

Only...could he still call her his Angel? She had, after all, turned her back to him. Running off with a fop and a fool! Breaking his heart in so many pieces...just like his mirrors. She had made him afraid to love. Afraid to show his heart. That boy..with the long black hair. He looked so like that fool that he wanted to puke! And Kat seemed to like him. Well...two could play at that game!

He started to write another note, his only light from guttering candles...

* * *

_The Next Day...in the Corridor..._

* * *

_"Hello Kat. It was wonderful to hear from you. I am delighted to hear that you want lessons. Meet me in the old chapel tonight at 9:00. I shall wait for you. Oh, I shall be leaving you a gift in a few days so we might be able to communicate better. See you tonight...Erik."_

"Meet him tonight? But rehearsals are running until Hedgecliff deems them over with." she stared at the parchment, worry and puzzlement etched in her brow. "How am I going to meet him?" She walked to rehearsals, her mind in a whirl. As she mingled with the other cast members, she had a distinct feeling that something was wrong. Fifteen minutes later, Orry came up to her.

"This is odd." he muttered, glancing around him nervously. "I keep feeling like I'm being watched. Always from behind. It's almost...a menacing glare."

"R-really? I hadn't noticed." she said, grinning. Orry gave her a suspicious look.

"Are you alright? You seem kinda-"

"Cast members! Cast members!" shouted Madame Yowling. "Gather around." They all stopped what they were doing and listened in. Madame Yowling took a deep breath. "Monsieur Hedgecliff is ill. It seems that he has caught a bug going around, so you all are given the day off. Tomorrow, he should be fine, so we will be holding rehearsals as usual!" Nobody heard that last part, for as soon as they had heard that Hedgecliff was sick, they were gone!

Katrina sat in her room, doing math problems and literature analysis. She set down her pencil and got up. She just couldn't concentrate. She was excited and scared. She had never seen Erik before. She wondered what he was like. Did he have long hair, like a rock star? Or did he have a crew-cut? Was he as pale as the moon, or as tan as a piece of toast? Did he have sky blue eyes or chocolate brown ones? She sat on her bed and stared up at her bundle of roses. Suddenly, her alarm buzzed.

She jumped up and rushed out, grabbing a water bottle on the way. As she dashed down passageways and corridors, she felt eyes on the back of her neck. She slowed to a tip-toe when she neared Hedgecliff's office. Her pricked ears caught the edges of a whispered conversation.

"..Do you think it to be food poisoning?" Madame Yowling's voice asked softly. A small groan answered.

"Maybe..." Hedgecliff answered hoarsely. "I think someone slipped something into my coffee. That's all I had today."

The conversation died as she turned a corner and disappeared down the stairs. She entered the old chapel nervously. Was Erik already here? No, it was empty. With an impatient sigh, she sat down and stared around her. She hadn't been here for a while, ever since the week she had first come to the Opera Populaire. She would come down here to cry, as she was desperately homesick. She always felt more at home here, for her father was a pastor. That's when she met Orry. He had been here longer than she had and he knew what was up. He comforted her and they became fast friends.

"Katrina?" called a voice. She looked up eagerly.

"Erik? Hey! I'm here!" she called, craning her neck every which way trying to see him. "Where are you?"

"It's wonderful to see you. This is the first time we've actually spoken, isn't it?"

"I guess you could say that..." she said, still trying to see where he was coming from. "Where are you?"

"Uh...I'm hiding. I'm sorry, I'm very insecure." he said, suddenly sounding small and vulnerable. His soft voice struck a cord in her heart. She nodded.

"I understand. You don't have to come out if you don't want to." She could practically hear a smile as he spoke.

"Thank you. You will see me one day, when I am comfortable with our friendship. In the meantime, would you mind singing me a song so I may gage your ability better?"

* * *

_Two Hours Later..._

* * *

Katrina sat down, breathing hard. Erik was such a bossy guy! Higher, lower, not so nasally and so on and so forth! 

"Well, I believe that is enough for one night." said Erik, sounding slightly amused. He watched Katrina and felt something stir down deep in his soul.

"Erik, thank you so much! This was awesome!"

"You're quite welcome. Shall we do this again?"

"Definitely! By the way, you sing so gorgeously! Even better than Orry, and that's saying something!" There was a pause.

"You...you really think so?" came his voice, once more soft and small. She smiled softly.

"Yes Erik. You are an Angel! An Angel of Music!"

* * *

So...? Press the pretty button. I am waiting to hear from you... 


	4. Do I Love You?

Thanks so much to those who reviewed. It made me feel so very special. Especially Akira'kitana, and chrys.cadis.chasa. I have no idea what it means, but it sounds awesome!!

* * *

Dedicated to all my reviewers. They make this POTO phan very happy.

* * *

Disclaimer- I in no way, shape or form claim ownership of Phantom of the Opera, the plot line, the characters or the settings. I only borrow them for my own amusement which hopefully will be enjoyed by others. Long live the Phantom of the Opera.

* * *

It was a few days after her first practice with Erik. Hedgecliff and Yowling had both noticed a definate change in her ability. She could reach notes that she hadn't been able to. She had graduated from a mezzo-soprano to a full soprano. Even Valerie had noticed. It wasn't long before it was "Into the Woods" opening night. 

She sat in her dressing room, still kinda surprised that she got a single one, as she had never had one before. It was fun to dance around like an idiot without anyone to see her and laugh at her attempt at hip dances. It was comforting to set a drink down, turn her back on it, and know that no-one was tampering with it. It was so nice to change slowly and get her make-up on slowly, without people yelling at her to move. It was so much fun. But she kinda missed messing around with Orry. He had his own dressing room too. It was down the hall from hers.

She sighed and stuck her head with a bobby pin. Putting her hair up in a bun for the wig was frustrating. She hated doing it. Hair was meant to flow free and- What was that? She turned and on her vainity (it wasn't there a second ago) was a single blood-red rose. She picked it up and a black ribbon's ends tickled her wrist. It was a beautiful rose, barely unfurling it's silky smooth petals. It was a mystery how it got there. Then her eyes picked up a tiny note folded to perfection. With an excited squeal, she grabbed it and quickly opened it. She was definately getting better at unfolding and was attempting to fold them. She could manage a square, but Erik kept coming up with more and more complicated shapes. Like a five-pointed star.

_Dear Kat,  
It's finally the night that you have been waiting for. I am so very proud of you. You sing with all of the voice and grace of an angel. Keep it up and break a leg tonight. I'll be watching, so don't be afraid. If you'd like, I would like to meet you in the same place tonight after the show. If you want. Erik_

Kat giggled, and her bun slipped. A knock sounded at the door, and JT poked his head in.

"Five minutes to places, Kat. Better hurry." he quickly closed the door as Kat erupted into a blur of movement. Before even a minute was up, she had her wig on, her costume on and her other costumes waiting in the wings. Orry clapped her on the back and whispered in her ear.

"Break a leg, Kat."

"Thanks." she whispered back, adjusting her wig with a few more bobby pins.

"Places." whispered JT, poking Orry in the back with his clipboard. Orry saluted smartly, and hurried to his cottage with his wife, Christie. Katrina shivered slightly, as this was her first title role. She hummed along with the opening lines and shook as Little Red Riding Hood exited. Their narrator, Christopher Yulling, started with her entrance. She licked her lips and her mouth went dry.

"Because the baker had lost his mother and father in a baking accident--well, at least that is what he believed--he was eager to have a family of his own, and concerned that all efforts until now had failed." Kat stepped up to the line, ready to step on stage. Then came the knock on Baker's door

"Who might that be?" asked Orry, looking at Christie.

"We have sold our last loaf of bread." she said, looking confused. Orry went over and opened the prop door. When he saw Kat, he fell backwards, and clutched at his heart.

"It's the witch from next door!" he cried to his wife, and Kat entered. She heard the snickers about her appearance, but she concentrated on Orry. She glared at them.

"We have no bread." they chorused together, grinning cheesily. Kat was suddenly frozen into inaction. She was rooted to the floor with no means of movement. She looked out at the audience, and saw a shadow in Box 5. She felt relief and she rolled her eyes comically.

"Of course you have no bread!" she said, throwing up her hands with exhasperation.

"Then, what do you wish?" asked the Baker, eager to get her out of his bakery. She gave them a look of scathing disbelief.

"It's not what I wish. It's what you wish." They still looked confused. She picked up her magic staff and used it to point at Christie's belly. "Nothing cooking in there now, is there?" She heard the laughter, and knew that nothing could stop her now.

"The old enchantress went on to tell the couple that she had placed a spell on their house." said Christopher.

"What spell?" demanded the Baker, making Kat sit down. She did so, but made them both uncomfortable.

"In the past, when you were no more than a babe, your father brought his young wife and you to this cottage. They were a handsome couple, but not handsome neighbors. You see, your mother was with child and she had developed an unusual appetite. She took one look at my beautiful garden, and told your father that what she wanted, more than anything in the world, was  
_Greens, greens, and nothing but greens:  
Parsley, peppers, cabbages and celery,  
Asparagus and watercress and  
Fiddleferns and lettuce--!  
He said 'all right,'  
But it wasn't, quite,  
'Cause I caught him in the autumn  
In my garden one night!  
He was robbing me,  
Raving me,  
Rooting through my rutabaga,  
Raiding my arugula and  
Ripping up the rampion  
(My champion! My favorite!)--  
I should have laid a spell on him right there.  
Could have turned him into stone,  
Or a dog, or a chair,  
Or a sn--_" she drifted off into a momentary trance that had the audience laughing hard. She jerked out of it, and continued as if nothing had happened.  
_"But I let him have the rampion,  
I'd lots to spare.  
In return, however,  
I said 'Fair is fair;  
You can let me have the baby  
That your wife will bear._  
_And we'll call it square._"

* * *

_Much Later..._

* * *

"_Into the woods--you have to grope,  
But that's the way you learn to cope.  
Into the woods to find there's hope  
Of getting through the journey.  
Into the woods, each time you go,  
There's more to learn of what you know.  
Into the woods, but not too slow--  
Into the woods, it's nearing midnight--  
Into the woods to mind the wolf,  
To heed the witch, to honor the giant,  
To mind, to heed, to find, to think, to teach, to join,  
To go to the Festival!  
Into the woods,  
Into the woods,  
Into the woods,  
Then out of the woods--  
And happy ever after!"_ The cast ended the musical with a bang. The audience loved it so much that they demanded two encores, one of which was "_Ever After_". When Kat stepped up to get her final bow, they nearly blew the rafters off. 

"Good thing we get to do this again tomorrow!" whispered Orry, as soon as they were offstage. Kat nodded, still too awed to speak. "You alright?" asked Orry, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. He took it off almost immediately look about him. He once more felt that intense, jealous gaze pirecing his back...He couldn't locate it. No-one was looking at him, yet he felt eyes on him. He shook his head, turned to Kat--but she had disappeared.

Kat dashed down the corridor, worried that she was late. She made a quick stop in her dressing room, putting away the wig and the dress and ran down in sneakers and jeans. But her face was covered with the make-up, and she was still wearing the fingers.

She entered the old chapel, and looked about her in a panic. She was late, he wasn't here, he didn't go to the play, he didn't like her anymore, he-

"Hello, Kat." said the familiar smooth voice from no-where.

"You came!" she said, relief written all over her face. A chuckle sounded from the shadows.

"You didn't think I'd come?" he asked, sounding amused and a bit hurt.

"I'm sorry." she said, sitting down and starting to take off the fingers. "It's been insane today." she said, struggling with a diffucult one. "I guess I'm more tired than I let on." Erik laughed from the shadows.

She leaned against the cool wall, closing her eyes in happiness. She could listen to that laugh for so long. But not forever, cause his singing was so much better. Just hearing his voice, she could almost see him. "Did you come to the musical?" she wondered aloud, knowing that he did, she just wanted to hear his voice.

"Of course." he said. sounding closer than he did when he laughed. "I thought it was wonderful. You especially." For some reason, that simple statement made her blush. He laughed again, a small whisper almost right in her ear. "I have something for you." he said.

"Ooooo! You didn't!" she exclaimed, eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree. A light suddenly fell upon a silver package with a black ribbon. Squealing, she raced towards it. He smiled to himself, watching her get so excited. She was so full of life, so full of energy and love. Perhaps she wanted to share some of that love with him...

"Wow...walkie-talkies." she said, sounding amused. "Why walkie-talkies? They look expensive."

"They aren't walkie-talkies." he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "They're, what do you call them again, oh yes, cell-phones."

"Oh, Erik. You definately should not have, that's way too expensive. I can't accept these, I won't accpet-"

"Yes, keep them. But I would like one." he said, and something in his voice compelled to her. She took one out of the box and held the other one out in the air.

"Come and get it." she said, quietly. The challenge hung in the air. He knew what she wanted. She had stood in the middle of the room, she was standing stock-still, she wanted to see him. No! Not yet! It was not time! But there she stood...

* * *

_Late that Night..._

* * *

Katrina sat in her room, too wired to get to sleep. She looked at her new cell-phone and couldn't wait to start plugging numbers in. Although...Orry didn't have one. And neither did any of her friends at school. Drat! Still, she had Erik's number. And, she supposed, he had hers. She sighed with disappointment. He hadn't come out. He had remained silent for so long that she had feared that he had left. But as soon as she set the package down in the center and turned to the door, she heard a slight wind behind her, turned and the box wasn't there. 

Why didn't he want to show himself yet? They were friends. She wanted to see why he hid from her. It had to be something big. She put her new cell-phone on her bed-side dresser, shoving off books and stuffed animals to do so. She glanced at her luminus clock. It read _1:30_. Damn! She'd have to get some sleep soon! School started at 7:30! She shoved back her covers and laid down on her bed. She looked up and saw her bunch of roses. Her newest red one lay on her desk, on top of her script. She smiled and started to close her eyes...

Suddenly, the opening notes to Beetoven's Fifth rang out. She leapt up, throwing panic stricken glances everywhere. She saw her phone bouncing up and down glowing and flashing and smiled wide. She picked it up and answered.

"Yes?"

"Hello." came Erik's sexy whisper. She bit her lip in joy, holding back a squeal of happiness.

"Hi, Erik." she replied, just as soft.

"I'm sorry about earlier." He said, sounding mournful.

"Oh, don't be." she said, rushing to comfort him. "It was my fault really. I'm sorry. I just...I just wanted to see you." she said, the last part dropping down to a tiny whisper. Erik chuckled quietly.

"You have very right to want to see me. I'm not quite ready though. So I forgive you." She could tell that he was teasing slightly. She giggled, and he laughed.

"Why are you stilll awake?" He asked, sounding concerned. "You really need to get your sleep."

"But I can't sleep Erik! I blame the adrenaline." she said factually. "And the three cans of soda I had after the performance."

"Never mind." soothed Erik. "I'll sing for you." he said, and she lay down, eager to hear him. A sweet sound echoed out from the phone, lulling her to sleep, and sending her to sweet dreams. She didn't quite recognize it...but it almost sounded like an opera that the older opera players had done three-to-four years ago. It soared and dipped. The music spun and caressed. She almost felt as if someone was caressing her cheek...but then she sunk down into a deep sleep, filled with confusing yet pleasing dreams.

* * *

Erik looked down at her sleeping form. He shut off his cell-phone, and pocketed it. He sat ever so softly on the edge of her bed, and reached his hand out so slowly it almost didn't move. His black-glove clad finger trembled as it neared her face. Her hair fell across her face as she turned in bed. He froze completely. She mumbled something, before settling deeper into her pillows. 

He reached out again, and ran his finger down her face, gently caressing her cheekbone.

"Mm-mph?" she murmured, quite happily, leaning into the caress. He grew bolder, gently tracing the outlines of her face, her eyes, her nose, her lips...He jerked his hand away and disappeared into the closet. Before he closed the secret passageway, he looked back at her. Soon, he would not be able to stay away from her...And she already proved that she wanted to see him. Maybe...maybe soon...

As he shut the door on her, and was struck with a single brilliant idea. That boy, the one with the long hair. Erik's blood boiled just thinking of him. He had already spied on him so much that he knew that the boy talked in his sleep and could answer questions. Erik grinned wickedly, and decided to lay a trap...

* * *

So...review for me or I'll sing Phanotm of the Opera songs. OFF-KEY!!! (No, I wouldn't do that...I know! I'll sing "Time-Warp" off-key!!) 


	5. The Phantom of the Opera

Oh...mi...gosh...YOU LOVE THIS!!! (squeals for several minutes)

* * *

Dedication- to LowlyAlto. I'm an alto too!! YAY!! BTW- _Je suis americaine. Et toi?_

* * *

Disclaimer- How many times must I relive the fact that I own nothing? It's depressing!

* * *

Orry's dream suddenly shifted. From a peaceful forest with his friends to a strange dark street. There were cobblestones underneath his feet, strange dark buildings surrounded him on either side. A song haunted the shadows. It was rather sad, melancholy and depressing. It almost sounded as if it were being hummed. He walked down the street, no destination in mind. There were no people, either in the buildings or on the street. He turned his head and beheld a cafe, and a figure seated there. He was the only other person on the entire street. 

"Hello." said the figure, gesturing for Orry to join him. Orry asked no questions, walking over and seating at the table. A blank-faced waiter brought a cup of coffee. "You are Orry." said the figure, watching him with deep dark eyes.

"Yes." said Orry, cupping his hands about the cup. No warmth emanated from the ceramic.

"You are friends with Katrina, are you not?"

"_Oui_," replied Orry, staring at the strange figure, neither man nor boy. Who was he?

"I'm a friend of hers as well. She is marvelous." said the figure, smiling. His teeth were dazzling in that dim, dank setting. Orry was puzzled. Why was he talking to him?

"What do you want?" he asked, being blunt. He didn't want to talk to this person any longer than necessary. Those eyes seemed too familiar...they brooded with concealed anger.

"Why, just to get to know you better. Tell me, what is your greatest fear?" Orry hesitated. Should he tell...?

"Giant, fat, flying insects. They creep me out." said Orry, the words coming out before he could stop them. He shuddered slightly at the thought of the fear. The figure grinned wickedly.

"Well, then..." he said. A sudden buzzing filled the atmosphere. Orry looked above, and saw a strange cloud descending upon him. Only it wasn't a cloud. Giant insects of all types were falling from the sky...no, not falling--flying. Orry looked furiously at the figure, but he had vanished. He jumped up and tried to run. But the insects out flew him and soon covered every inch of his skin...

"ARGH!" he shouted, sitting bolt upright in bed, successfully knocking his head against his friend's. He fell back in the bed, grabbing his head.

"Orry, what the heck was happening?" demanded JT, rubbing his forehead ruefully.

"Nothing, nothing. Just a dream." said Orry, massaging his heart and head.

"Must've been one heck of a dream." said JT, wandering back over to his own bunk. Orry sat there, blankets in a disarray, breathing heavily, his heart still pounding. He was so busy trying to calm down, he didn't hear the quiet chuckling behind his head; in the wall.

* * *

More than a week later, and Orry's dreams hadn't gotten better. If anything, they had gotten worse. Now, he was afraid to go to sleep, no matter where he was. If he was at school, he remembered dreams from the night before and they haunted him. At night, in the Opera-House, he heard the back round music everywhere, he saw shadows everywhere, he could not shake his fears from his head. Katrina grew more and more worried. Their last performance of "Into the Woods" was the worst. Orry hadn't slept for three days and he could not sing. 

"Orry, why are you not sleeping? I'm getting really worried." said Kat, sitting next to his dejected self. He turned away from her.

"Don't sit next to me." he said, refusing to look at her. "I'm ashamed."

"So you haven't been sleeping. And your voice was off today. Big deal!" she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Orry, if this continues, I'm personally gonna take you to a doctor."

"I'm fine." he said through gritted teeth. "I just need to-"

"Sleep. Tell ya what. I'll spend the night in your dorm tonight. Keep a night vigil for you. I'll find out what's causing these nightmares of yours." Orry smiled and turned to her.

"You will? What about Madame Yowling's-"

"Screw Madame Yowling's rules! Your health is a heck of a lot more important to me than some bunch of stupid butt rules!" shouted Kat, whacking him upside the head. He laughed and whacked her back, almost like old times. Before the happenings of the Opera-House. Before a shadow haunted the passageways. Before songs echoed through Kat's mind...

* * *

How dare she...? How _dare_ she?! He was doing this for her! Yet she felt the need to go and comfort his enemy! Her enemy! That boy was a obstacle and obstacles must be removed. He was doing that just fine! That boy was weak, in both mind and spirit. Otherwise, he would never allow him control every single night. No matter how much that boy detested the night horrors, more were still to come. But he could not do anything with Kat there. She could not know what was going on. It was better if she were not involved. 

Cold...it suddenly became cold. He shivered slightly in the arctic chill, but soon ignored it. He watched Katrina sleep on the ground next to that boy's bunk. _On the floor!_ She deserved the finest of apartments, arrayed in gold and satin. Not a blanket _on the floor!_ Tomorrow night, that boy would suffer ten times what he had suffered these past nights. Kat...look and see! That idiot is nothing! Nothing!! I am here. I am waiting...I cannot wait any longer, Kat. This feeling I should not be feeling. It only brought me sadness and despair last time. Why do you awaken this within me? Why?

I cannot stand this Kat. Please...don't make me feel like this...My heart, it's being mended. Don't break it again, Kat. Please don't...Perhaps...it is time. Kat, though you don't know it, I will soon appear to you. And then you will love me as I love you.

* * *

"Thank you Kat! I haven't sleep that well in over a week!" cried Orry the next morning, sweeping her up off the floor and swinging her about as if she were a small child. He was laughing and his infectious attitude made her laugh too. 

"Okay, you can put me down now, Mr. Sunshine!" she laughed, struggling playfully to place her feet on the ground. Orry swung her around once more, then set her down. "What are you doing up so early on a Saturday anyway?" she asked, pulling down her hair and re-pony-tailing it.

"I just feel great. Wanna go do something? Like, walk in the park or something?"

"Alright." she agreed, smiling. It seemed it would be a great day. There was no school, she barely had any homework...but there was a damper on the day. She had not heard Erik last night. She had forgotten her cell-phone in her room, and couldn't go out to get it after lights out in fear that Madame Yowling would find her creeping in the halls. That would be embarrassing. She wondered if he had called last night. If he did, she didn't answer! Oh man! He must think that she was the biggest loser in all the world!

She dashed out, ran down the hallways and entered her room in a rush. She quickly picked her way across to her dresser and picked up her cell-phone. She looked at missed calls. There was one. Of course it was Erik. She quickly called him back, but received no answer. That was weird. Her heart sank. He was mad at her. She didn't want him mad at her. Dispirited, she got on her only pair of designer jeans, a rather nice purple shirt that went with her hair well. She slipped on some silver jewelry, and got on her boots that made her an inch taller. Walking about Paris in the springtime was one of the greatest times ever. One had to dress the part.

She walked out of her room, putting a purse on her shoulder, her wallet, cell-phone and IPod in it. She walked down the passageways rather wobbly, as she hadn't worn her boots in a month or more. She thought she felt eyes on her back, but there was nobody there. She dismissed it as her imagination, and tapped on Orry's dorm's door. He answered, dressed in a pair of baggy blue jeans and a black shirt. "To Write Love on Her Arms" was written on it in green print.

"Com'n, let's go!" he said, grabbing her arm and they started running. Soon, they were passing the chapel, and something caused her to slow down and stop.

"Orry, go ahead. I'll meet you out there." she said, turning back to the chapel entrance. She started down the stairs, almost as if she were in a trance. She heard a song from below. She walked down and down...

Orry walked along the hallway, confused. Why had Kat decided to meet him out near the entrance? What had she needed to see? There was something strange going on. He turned about, staring at the way he had come. He felt a chill emanating from the direction from which he had come. There was something wrong. He started to go back...

Katrina turned a corner, and entered the chapel. There he was, standing in the light of the stained glass windows. He was taller than she expected...and much skinner. But that was forgotten as Erik sang. His eyes were closed and the light danced across his face. The face hidden by a white mask. Soon, even that was forgotten as he sang, she found a strange fluttering sensation holding her stomach hostage. She stood there, feeling like an intruder in a miracle. Slowly, she felt her feet take her closer and closer...

What was that haunting the air? It was indefinitely sad, eternally longing. It was as if all the sadness in the world had been translated into the melody that flowed through the air. Orry walked so slowly. When had his limbs gotten so heavy? It was as if he were walking through heavy syrup or molasses. He was moving so slowly. Why? Katrina...!

She was standing right next to him, and yet he did not acknowledge her presence. She did not wish for him to. He could feel it. She wanted him to keep singing. He knew the power of his voice and he knew how to execute it. She was fully underneath his power, yet he did not wish to frighten her. He could not frighten her. He was all too aware of the mask and the horror it hid. He continued to sing, putting all of his hidden angst and sorrow behind it, making it so infinitely sad that she started to cry.

Orry entered the corridor, and started down the stairs, the haunting melody surrounding his ears, surrounding his soul. His spirit was meeting such a resistance that he had to stop. He could not go a step further. What was preventing him? Where was Kat? What was this melody? Now that he was trapped, it seemed to envade his mind and it was almost as if he were plunged into one of his nightmares...

Kat felt tears drop down her face. She wanted to stop crying, but she could not. Erik's song brought back memories...memories that she wasn't sure she wanted to revisit. She instead lost herself in Erik's song, it's beautiful quality and clarity. She couldn't stand it, yet she would not be able to bear it if he stopped. _Don't stop, Erik. Please...don't stop..._As if he heard her silent plea, he made his song more beautiful if it were possible. Tears poured down her face, and yet she was powerless to stop them. Suddenly, a hand was on her face, gently wiping away her tears. Startled, she looked up. Erik's eyes were open and he was still singing, while gently caressing her face. He looked at her with such powerful yearning it made her afraid. Nobody had ever looked at her with such passion before. His voice filled her ears and calmed her fears. She nuzzled slightly against his hand, and his voice softened to almost a whisper...

"Kat..." whispered Orry, trying with all his might to advance on the stairs. An invisible barrier stopped him from even tiptoeing on the stair he was perched on. He had his hands up, pushing against this force as if pure brute strength would aid him. "Something is not right! What is this?! Katrina!" he cried out. The shield gave a touch. He paused. "Katrina!" he said again, with just as much hopelessness and worry. The shield gave even more. He took a deep breath, and started to scream her name, screaming it over and over again, until the shield imploded in on itself. "KATRINA!" he shouted, stumbling down the stairs.

"KATRINA!" the explosive shout echoed down into the chapel. They both looked to the entrance. Katrina felt Erik's hand leave her face, she turned, but he was already gone. Her hand went to where his face had been, but he was not there. Orry tumbled into the room, sweaty and out of breath. "Kat...are you alright? Why are you crying?"

"He's gone..." she said, tears starting to fall from her eyes once more, this time from an unnamed pain from deep within her soul. She needed Erik...why was he gone? "Erik..." she whispered as she fell to her knees. Orry stood there, unsure of what to do in his awkward boyish way. Erik watched the scene from behind the angel on the wall and his heart ached...

* * *

"_The Phantom of the Opera is there...inside my mind..._" Katrina half-sang, half-spoke to herself in her room later that day. After the chapel she had enclosed herself in her room, hoping for a call from Erik. Was she supposed to have seen him that morning? Why hadn't he called? What was going on? Orry spoke of a barrier that kept him from reaching the chapel. Only when he had spoken her name had he been able to breech the force. She called him a bangin' big banging liar, and dashed to her room, cheeks ablaze. He hadn't come after her. 

She sat on her bed, only one candle lit. Her soul was now in shadow, and she only felt comfortable in almost absolute darkness. There was something hurting in her chest. She didn't know what it was, she just wanted it to stop. And she knew that to stop it, she would need Erik. This soul needed his music. Why wouldn't he call?!

"My God, call!" she screamed at her phone. As if it had heard her, it rang. She stared at the caller ID, as if she were afraid that it wasn't Erik. But of course it was he. She fumbled, and almost dropped it, such was her rush to hear Erik again.

"Erik." she said, somehow her panic and need leaking into her voice. "Please, I'm sorry! If I did anything wrong-"

"No, Katrina. The fault is all mine. I should not have touched you without permission. It was folly."

"I didn't say you couldn't..." she whispered into the phone. "Erik..."

"Yes?" he answered, his voice barely above a whisper. She didn't know how to ask him to sing to her. Her courage failed her, her voice failed her. She couldn't speak she couldn't- "Katrina? Are you still there?"

"Sing me." she asked, just like a little girl. He chuckled into the phone, making her smile.

"Sing?" he asked, playfully.

"Yes..." she said, her voice dropping several volume levels.

"Of course." he said, almost instantly launching into the song he sang to her at bedtimes. Her heart was calmed, and she leaned back on her pillows, falling asleep, with no troubled dreams. Erik's angelic voice echoed about her mind, lulling her into a sleep that was deep and dreamless.

That night, Orry dreamed that there were pianos falling from the sky. The discorded notes pounded in his head until he was afraid that he'd go deaf. Laughter filled his dream, laughter from above. Laughter that held a musical quality...

* * *

Thank you. I have been inspired by Susan Kay's _Phantom_. Erik...Erik...pain grips my heart. I wish I could have been there for you... 


	6. Rock Music

Thank you to Agnes1014, Hot4Gerry, Phantom's Ange, pastheart, and GuardianOfTheMorningStar. You guys all rock!!

* * *

Dedication- To the inspiration for Orry.

* * *

Disclaimer- I own nothing, cause I do not want to be sued, and I also don't want Erik descending with a Punjab lasso aimed at me.

* * *

Katrina stared off into space. She sighed, wondering when the stupid lecture would end. This French lesson was taking FOREVER!! The stupid teacher would not stop talking. She knew that the material would be on the Final Exam, but she couldn't bring herself to care. The Opera Populaire would have a job for her when she graduated anyway, why waste her time here? Her gaze went to the ceiling and she started to daydream...

Suddenly, a folded piece of paper landed on her desk. '_Yes! Sweet distraction!_' she thought, grabbing it. It was so plainly folded, not as intricate as Erik could fold. She opened it.

_Want to rehearse after school?_ was written in JT's blocky handwriting. She glanced over when the teacher's back was turned. He grinned at her. She smiled back.

_Heck yes! And I got an idea for a song! _"You want to turn the _Phantom of the Opera_ into a rock song?" asked Orry, looking at her with his eyebrows shooting into his hairline. Katrina struck a cord on her electric guitar with an attitude. Orry shook his head.

* * *

"Are you sure?" he asked, giving his bass a stroke. Notes swirled in the air, fading with time.

"I think it's a great idea!" said Liana, twirling her drum sticks. She sat behind her drum kit, long hair back in a braid. JT stood behind his keyboard, trying out the keys. It had been more than a week since they had all practiced together.

"Ditto!" said JT, making the keyboard emit sharp spiky notes that went with Liana's drum-beats. Orry sighed with a smile.

"Looks like I'm out-voted." he laughed. "Let's play 'Lost and Found' to warm up." He struck the opening cords, and Liana quickly changed her drum beat, making it faster and adding a few symbols in. JT let his fingers fly over his keyboard. Kat slammed on her guitar. She let the music wash over her, and she lost herself in the cords and beats of one of her favorite rock songs. Orry sang the lyrics, Liana and Kat providing the chorus.

They were in one of the many sound-proof rehearsal rooms in the Music building. They used to meet at least twice a week, before "Into the Woods" and the Exams loomed around the corner. They even had a small fan club in the school. They called themselves _'The Phantoms'_. They were always asked to play at school functions, (along with the other resident bands) and once a year they had a Battle of the Bands as a fundraiser for the school. _Phantoms_ came in second place last year, and this year they were determined to do as well if not better!

As the last cords of "Lost and Found" faded away, Kat turned to Orry. "My idea could win Battle for us. Think. It's romantic, scary and if we put to rock music, we could rock it awesomely!!"

"Gasp! What if we wore masks to the Battle?!" exclaimed Liana. "With giant black capes! It'd be so awesome!"

"JT, do you think that you translate the original piece into rock?" asked Orry, turning to the keyboardist. JT let rip a stream of obviously Phantom notes, but they had a beat and a rhythm that was definitely rock.

"Way ahead of ya, Orry." he said, smiling like it was Christmas.

* * *

Late that afternoon, Katrina and her friends finally made their way back to the Opera House, after an exhausting rehearsal session. They had switched most of the original song into rock, and now they were deciding what lyrics to do. They had managed to record the song on a CD before the band director kicked them out.

Katrina had completely fallen in love with the song, and she couldn't stop it playing in her head. Suddenly, there was another song in her head besides Erik's. She wasn't sure if she liked it, but the rock music was drowning out the classical. She walked into her room, humming the tune.

She set her bag down, took out the CD, put it in her stereo and turned up the volume. The rock flooded out and she began to sway to the beat. Without even knowing what she was doing, she began to dance. She let the music take her over and she began to dance. With her arms over her head, she moved her hips to the beat, swinging her hair all over the place.

_What is she doing? What is that horrid sound that she's moving to? What is going on? That dance...it stirs something within...the way she moves is astonishing. How can someone shake their head like that and not get a headache? Katrina...you are so different than the girl I knew once. In a way, better. In another way, not. But right now, you are all mine. I have to distract you before that dance drives me insane...!_

Her cell phone lit up on the desk, obviously ringing, but she couldn't hear it. He growled slightly, he didn't like the way that she was dancing (actually he did, not that he'd ever admit it). It was too provocative. The song suddenly ended. He quickly called her again.

"Allo?" she answered in French.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle." he said continuing in the pattern. "Ca va?"

"Ca va tres bien. Et toi?"

"What was that song?" he asked, choosing not to answer the question.

"The Phantom of the Opera, rockified! Didn't it rule?!" she exclaimed, eyes shining. He smiled at her through the gaps in the ball gowns. He couldn't stand it, she was always so happy. How did she do it?

"It was...interesting." he said, successfully keeping his voice from sounding disgusted.

"We're trying to decide what lyrics to do." she continued, flopping down on her bed, taking off her shoes. "Definitely the first and second stanzas, but what after that?"

"Which ones?"

"You know, _in sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came_. That one. Then _sing once again with me, our strange duet_. That one too. Orry's trying to decide the others."

"Orry's in your band?" he asked, making his voice light, not angry.

"Yes, he and I founded it! We're The_ Phantoms_!" she said, eyes shining.

"That sounds great." he said, before switching the subject.

* * *

Late that night, a boy's laptop went missing, along with his wall plug-in. Erik sat in the attic, laptop plugged in, Internet up and sites whizzing past like lightning. He was researching rock music. He listened to so much that he thought his head would explode. He researched the beginning, the rock stars, the songs, the instruments, the cords and melodies. He wanted to know everything that was rock.

He still didn't like it at the end of five hours.

* * *

He snuck to Orry's dorm, and looked about for an instrument that Orry would play. He couldn't find anything from his position behind Orry's bed in the wall. He had to exit and snoop about in person. He found the guitar case under Orry's bed. He discovered the make and model of the bass, the colors and everything.

That same night, Katrina's copy of the Phantom rockified disappeared as well, as well as a spare CD stereo. Erik was learning the song.

* * *

_A Week Later..._

* * *

This time, they decided to rehearse in the Opera House. There was an unused music room near the dorms that Monsieur Hedgecliff had reluctantly agreed to let them use. They set up and Erik was right there, listening...watching.

Liana beat out the time, and they dove into the song, ripping out cords and notes. Kat was the lead singer for this song.

"_In sleep he sang to me  
In dreams he came  
That voice that calls to me  
And speaks my name!_

_And do I dream again  
For now I find  
The Phantom of the Opera is there  
Inside my mind!_" Erik was blown away. Who was this girl that sang from Kat's body? The voice was husky, sexy and commanding. He hadn't ever heard this side of Katrina before. It was almost better than her classical voice. She was astounding. This was completely amazing she-

"_Sing once again with me  
Our strange duet  
My power over you  
Grows stronger yet!_

_And though you turn from me  
To glance behind  
The Phantom of the Opera is there  
Inside your mind!_" Da-- that boy! He had been distracted by that boy's horrid singing. If you could call it that. He distracted him from Katrina and her amazing voice. He looked back to her, and saw that she was _enjoying _that singing! Shaking her head, moving her body, rocking her guitar. Orry caused her happiness. Well, he'd have to fix that!

The music stopped and they all laughed and smiled.

"We did good!" shouted JT, obviously in thrills about the music that they had created.

"Yeah!" said Katrina, looking at Orry. "Great job, Orry! That ruled!"

"Hey, you did great too. We all did!" he said, strumming his bass, letting cords loose.

_Orry..._whispered a voice inside his head. He shook it off._ Orry._ Slowly he felt his mind give way a bit. _You do not feel well. Put down the bass, and walk out._

"I don't feel well." he echoed, setting down his bass and walking out of the rehearsal room. Katrina followed him, shouting for him to wait up. _Don't stop, keep walking._ He didn't stop.

"Orry! Stop, goddammit!!" shouted Kat, running after him. Liana and JT peered out of the music room, worried. "Fine! Go off and sulk!! See if I give a #&#&$!!" she stomped back to the rehearsal room, without Orry.

"What was that?" asked Liana, looking incredulous. Kat growled, grabbed her guitar and stormed to her room. She threw her guitar on her bed, quickly apologizing for her rough handling. With a groan, she grabbed her wallet and shoved it in her pocket. She almost ran back to the music room.

"Does anyone want to go to a café?" she asked, poking her head into the room, where Liana and JT were still standing. They shook their heads, bent over their instruments. She snarled, not at them, and walked off.

"I'm going to a café." she told Madame Yowling as she passed, and Madame couldn't stop her. Katrina marched down the aisles, down the stairs, out the doors and into the streets of Paris. As she walked along, she slowly edged out of her mood and was filled with the happiness that only Paris could bring. She loved the old buildings on every street. She loved the smiles of the people. She waved to others from her school. She entered one of the older cafés, loving the comfy setting with stuffed chairs and a fireplace in the backround.

She sat at one of the single tables and a waiter came up almost instantly.

"Qu'est-ce qui vous aimer, mademoiselle?" he asked, whipping out his pad and pencil.

"Je voudrais un café et un croissant de chocolat, s'il vous plaît." she replied. He nodded and walked off. She leaned back and inhaled the smell of coffee and freshly baked pastries. She smelled apples and caramel, chocolate and whipped cream. Steam and smoke drifted near the roof and she cupped her cup of coffee, adding sugar but no cream. She needed something a little stronger than as her friends said "a cup of Josephine." (A cup of Joe, girled up with lots of cream and sugar.)

She slowly drank and ate, letting the stress leave her body. She watched the people come and go. A bunch of tourists came in at one point, all talking in Spanish and English. There was a translator with them, and they were having a blast, taking pictures of the café, messing up the French orders, laughing. She smiled, she and her friends would do that on purpose.

A while later, she finally stood up (two cups of coffee and at one more chocolate croissant) and walked with her check to the counter. The cashier rang it up.

"Ce sera vingt euros, s'il vous plaît." she said. Katrina quickly pulled out her wallet and paid. The tourists had just left, tipping the cashier at least twenty euros too much. Kat shook her head and left a four euro tip, like always. She walked out into the balmy night air, calm at last. She set out, back to the Opera Populaire. The tourists were ahead of her, all chatting in their language.

Kat barely had time to blink when about ten teenage boys leaped out from an alley, surrounding the tourists. Knifes glittered in their hands, and one had a hand in his coat. Kat stopped dead. She recognized these gang members. They called themselves the Patriots. They dyed their hair red, blue and white. They only spoke in French and only attacked tourists.

"Donnez-nous votre argent maintenant!" shouted one of the punks, his knife flashing in the moonlight. The tourists turned to their translator.

"He wants you to give them your money." her voice quavered, obviously frightened. One of the tourists spoke in rapid Spanish. The translator turned the the youths.

"Il a dit-"

"MAINTENANT!" shouted most of the youths, knifes suddenly in faces. Wallets hit the pavement, couples clung to each other. Whispered prayers in foreign languages. Kat was terrified. But she couldn't just let this happen. Those tourists hadn't done anything!

Gathering up her courage, she picked up a brick and heaved it at them. It hit one of the closest ones square in the back. He fell to the ground, crying in pain. He was such a baby, he really couldn't stand pain. One of his friends turned about, saw her and started running towards her.

"Oh God!" she screamed, turning about and starting to run.

"Chienne anglaise!" he shouted, trying to catch up to her.

"Ce n'était pas très agréable!" she shouted back, trying to make him leave her alone. He continued after her, eyes narrowed into slits of anger. The others quickly scattered, wallets in hand. One of the tourists, a tall brunette man, turned about and dashed back, apparently to help her. One of the gang members quickly blocked his path, knocked him down and ran to help his buddy.

Kat turned a corner, and ducked into the shop there, never mind that it was a liquor store. She hid behind the counter, shaking in fright. "Deux membres de gang sont après moi. Permettez-moi s'il vous plaît de vous cacher!" she said to the clerk. He nodded watching the windows. The two gang members ran by. A few seconds and there were many screams. The clerk and Kat looked at each other, neither daring to go out into the street to see what was going on.

* * *

_How dare he?!_ Erik thought, watching the two boys chase Katrina. He reached into his coat, grabbed his constant companion, and leapt down from the rooftops, looped the Punjab around the first youth's throat. He pulled it and pulled it until there was nothing left to pull and the youth toppled into the streets. He whipped about, grabbing his other tool. He whipped the hook through the air, slicing the second boy across the stomach.

The boy squealed like a stuck pig. Erik swung the hook again, this time catching the boy across the throat. Blood poured to the sidewalk as the boy crumpled like a sack of flour. Erik stood there for a few seconds to make sure that neither would ever get up again. The tourist suddenly sat up. Erik went into defensive mode, quickly moving to the shadows.

"Who are you?" asked the tourist in a fine baritone. He knew almost no French but wanted to learn. Erik looked at him and said what amused him.

"The Angel of Death."

"You came to save me?" asked the tourist happily, getting up and dusting off his jeans. He looked up and the mask wasn't even two inches from his face.

"No." Erik said, sliding into the shadows and vanishing. Soon cars with sirens blocked the road, reporters came and snapped pictures, the bodies were taken away, Kat lead to a vehicle where she was given hot chocolate (although she asked for coffee) and nobody noticed the shadow on the roof, watching all.

* * *

Late that night, Katrina was finally allowed to go back to her room, after a major reaming from Monsieur Hedgecliff and Madame Yowling. She crept along the corridor, hopeful that she wouldn't meet others from the dorms. She didn't want to talk about why she was so late. It was just...gah! She had getten caught up in gang warfare, two of the gang were dead, and now she and that other tourist were the only witnesses. Now it was going to be in all the newspapers, and everyone would read it in the morning. Then, she'd be bombarded with questions! She would get no peace!! Maybe she wouldn't get up tomorrow...jsut sleep in till noon. That'd be good.

She entered her room and tossed her wallet on the desk. She couldn't wait to go to sleep. She was so tired. She yawned, and collasped on her bed. As she closed her eyes, Erik's voice began to sing to her. It was a new song...more passion filled. It almost made her think about being in love...

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Thank you to those who have read this far...Now review. Please!! Please, please, please, please, PLEASE!!!!!

_And for those of you who do not speak French...(Basic Translations)_

_Qu'est-ce qui vous aimer, mademoiselle? = What would you like, miss?_

_Je voudrais un café et un croissant de chocolat, s'il vous plaît. = I would like a coffee and a chocolate crossiant, please._

_Ce sera vingt euros, s'il vous plaît. = It will be twenty euros, please._

_Donnez-nous votre argent maintenant! = Give us your wallets, now!_

_MAINTENANT!! = NOW!!_

_Chienne anglaise! = English bitch!_

_Ce n'était pas très agréable! = That's not very nice!_

_Deux membres de gang sont après moi. Permettez-moi s'il vous_ _plaît de vous cacher! = Two gang members are after me. Please let me hide here!_


	7. The Auditions

I finally figure it out! I totally figured out how I am going to end this!! YAY ME!!

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Disclaimer- I own nothing Phantom of the Opera related...if I did...I'd be rich.

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Dedication- To GuardianoftheMorningStar. She rules...totally.

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Katrina awoke in her bed. Songs in her head...Songs constantly in her head. She shook her head to dislodge the cobwebs of sleep, getting up. She nearly tripped on the shoes she wore last night. Jeez, she was still in her clothes from the night before...She groaned when she saw the alarm clock's luminous face. _Nearly 11'o'clock..._Dang. And she was hungry. She quickly changed clothes, putting on a fresh pair of jeans and a black shirt with "WICKED" written across it with silver thread. She loved that musical...

She pulled open her door. There was a folded in half note taped to it. She took it off and opened it on the way to the dining hall.

_Dearest KAT!!  
What is up, Sleepin' Beauty? We've got a mondo audition time at 2:00 at the school in the aud for BATTLE!! We're rehearsing from 1:00 till then. Don't forget your mask and cape!! XD_

_JT, Orry and Liana_

"Gee, thanks for telling me." she said sarcastically as she entered the empty dining hall. She made her way to the food counter and was just about to swipe a unwatched hamburger when Rocko came bursting out of the kitchen.

"**KATRINA**, doll!!" he shouted, coming around the corner and giving her a big bear hug. She returned it, laughing. "How is you?!"

"I is fine, Rocko. Just tired."

"GOD, I _heard_ about that **awful** GANG business last night! Ya _**poor **_thing!" he said, going back around the counter. "So's...I made you a pick-me-up! Didn't let no-one else _touch_ it or even _**see**_ it. My poor gang-beat girl needs to **eat**!" he exclaimed, producing a large omelet from under the oven. Her eyes grew wide at the sight.

"Is that what I think it is?" she drooled. Rocko set it on a tray with a can of Diet Coke and a chocolate pastry. He nodded energetically.

"_**Four**_ eggs, whisked and blended with just a _touch_ of red pepper, _stuffed_ with ham, cheddar, onions and a **dash** of **_jalapenos_**. On the side, the _**ever**_ _**famous**_ Chocolate Chipper Cookie Dough pastry **_and_**...your regular Diet."

"Better make it a regular Coke, Rocko."

"O-o...daring today." he said, making the switch. She smiled fondly at the Head Chef.

"What would I do without you?" she said, picking up her tray.

"Um, **_starve_**, _HELLO_?" he replied, going back to the kitchen.

"True, true." she said, going to a table. She eagerly forked up a bite of the omelet. Oh...God...Sheer heaven...Rocko could take the barest of ingredients and make a feast. She ate it slowly, savoring every bite. It was about noon when she finally finished everything and helped Rocko wash some dishes in the back. If he wouldn't take her money, he'd take her labor. Heck, she didn't mind. Rocko was like a crazy uncle. She loved that chef.

She walked back to her room, grabbed her long black cape and white full mask with the extra-wide mouthpiece. They each had one, each with an extra-wide mouthpiece. Liana might make really funky designs on them for the Battle...one never knew when she'd get hit upside the head by her Creative Muse. She stuffed them both in her black tote bag with the silver and purple peace sign. She grabbed her guitar case and headed out of the Opera House.

She paused on the side-walk. Normally, she'd walk. But...after last night...the Patriots might be on the look-out for her...That would not be good. She caught the bus, which stopped right outside the school...after several stops, breaks, red-lights and traffic jams. She was at the school near 12:45, fifteen minutes early. Good. She walked to their usual practice room, where the others were already set up.

"Kat!" squealed Liana, swirling about to hug her, the giant black cape that she was wearing flaring everywhere.

"Hey girl! We ready?!" she said hugging her back.

"Just about." said JT, playing a warm-up song on his key-board. "Everyone else is in the aud. already." Kat nodded, pulling out her own cape. The auditions for the Battle were nearly as popular as the Battle itself. Everyone showed up for their favorite band and sometimes they actually had to kick some of the more rapid fans out. Orry came out of the bathroom, shaking his head. Even those three Advil weren't helping his headache...He looked up and saw Kat in her mask and cape...She was grinning evilly as she pulled her guitar from it's case and slammed some notes to JT's keyboard notes. He felt his headache leave.

"Yeah, KAT! Rock on!" he shouted, grabbing his bass. She grinned, slamming a few notes his way. They all started to play a totally random song that they made up as they went, to both warm-up and expel nerves. As they all stopped, they cheered and slapped high-fives.

"We look awesome!" said Liana, adjusting her own mask. Everyone nodded.

"Totally _Phan_-tastic!" punned Kat. Everyone groaned good-naturedly. They all laughed. "Ready...?" She asked. They all nodded, taking up their positions like they were on the stage. They had about a half-hour left, time to run the song.

JT took a breath and he nodded at Orry. Orry nodded at Liana. They all rose their hands...Notes exploded from JT's keyboard, Orry's bass plucking underscored the rythimic beat from Liana's drums. Kat added her guitar rift on the top, they played for a few seconds...then everyone else stopped, letting Kat rift while she sang...

"_In sleep he sang to me  
In dreams he came...!" BAH BAM, _went the drums and bass.  
_"That voice that calls to me  
And speaks my name!_" _BAH BAM_! Everyone joined back in, notes and chords swirling about like magic. Kat's cloak swirled as she rifted her guitar.  
"_And do I dream again,  
For now I find...  
The Phantom of the Oprea  
Is there...inside my mind_!"

'_Oh, Hell yeah. We are so ready!!'_

* * *

"_Those who have seen your face  
Draw back in fear  
I am the mask you wear!!  
It's me they hear!  
My/Your spirit and my/your voice  
In one combined!!  
The Phantom of the Opera is there  
inside my/your mind!!"_sang Orry and Kat together as the stage-lights flashed blue, red and white. Fake fog covered their feet and swirled up in tendrils. Their tech guy, Jason, was totally going all out and it ROCKED!! Kat jammed her guitar a little harder as Liana did a bit of fancy work with the drums.

"_The Phantom of the Opera!"_sang JT and Liana as Kat and Orry circled each other, staring deeply into each other's eyes.

"_The Phantom of the Opera!_" repeated JT and Liana, cutting the music as Orry put his hand into Katrina's hair. The crowd went wild, screaming, cheering! Kat and Orry backed away from each other and pumped their fists into the air. No-one else had a applause like this!! If this was an omen for the Battle...it was totally in the bag.

Everyone was happy...except for the tall shadow in the back of the theatre. His eyes narrowed as Kat and Orry smiled at each other, joining hands to accept the applause. How dare that boy put his hands on _his_ Angel?! How dare that impudent child?! He felt his anger starting to boil over...

_POW! POW! POW! POW! POW!_

One by one, the stage-lights and spotlights high above started to explode, showering the stage and audience with hot bits of glass. The figure quickly vanished, afraid of what might happen next...he didn't want his Angel to be hurt. Screams echoed as everyone vacated the seats, rushing to get out of the way of the falling glass. Orry shielded Kat as they ran backstage, Liana lamenting that her drum kit was too big to drag back there that instant.

"Don't worry, I'll help you clean the glass up." said Kat, patting her on the shoulder. She grinned up at Orry, who was taking off his mask. "I wonder what was going on?"

"Maybe we angered the Theatre Gods." said JT, clutching his keyboard in his arms. He looked out at the now really dark theatre. The directors were yelling for more lights, but the House lights had also blown.

"Maybe we angered the Phantom." joked Liana, looking to see if it was safe enough to get her drum kit. Another exploding blub said not.

"Yeah, maybe the Phantom came back." said Orry in a mocking scary voice. They all laughed. "Please. There is no such thing as the Phantom of the Opera."

"Yeah...no such thing-" And it was like a fog cleared from Katrina's mind. The music vanished...the notes faded. Her mind rocketed back to Earth from it's spot in the clouds. She gasped for air, fear gripping her heart.

"Oh...My...God..." she said, clutching at Orry's sleeve.

"What Kat? What is it? Did you get hit?" he asked, looking her over for blood.

"Orry...I'm being haunted by the Phantom of the Opera..." she whispered.

"What?" he said, his eyebrows shooting up into his hair-line.

"He sings to me...he calls my name...Orry, he watches me constantly!" she looked up into Orry's eyes. He saw nothing but the truth there. "Orry...He watches us with his glowing eyes. This was his doing, I know it!" she shouted, starting to panic.

"Kat, Kat, chill!" said Orry, grabbing her up in a hug. "Com'n, chill out. Post-performance nerves." he said to the band "Teenage Mutants" as they stared. They walked away shrugging.

"Orry...your dreams. It's his doing." she whispered, realization hitting her right between the eyes. "He gets so jealous."

"Oh, come on! You sound like a drama queen from a day-time soap." said Orry, not wanting to believe this. This was so crazy!! Just then, a phone went off. Kat froze. Her pocket was vibrating, singing out Beethoven's Fifth.

"I didn't know that you had a cell." said Orry, reaching over and plucking it out of her pocket. "Erik...?" he wondered, reading the flashing name.

"That's him." said Katrina, breath catching in her throat. "I can't answer it, I can't!"

"You've gotta! It's your phone!"

Kat shook her head violently. "Fine!" snapped Orry, flipping her phone open.

"Orry, no-!"

"Yo." said Orry into the mouthpiece. There was an angry silence at the other end. "Hello?" said Orry again.

"Who is this?" growled a low voice.

"Orry." The voice snarled wordlessly.

"Why are you answering Katrina's phone?" the voice snarled. Orry built up his courage. This voice was really something else.

"Cause she's busy at the moment." he replied, looking at Katrina who was staring at him with wide eyes. "Didn't want her to have a missed call."

For a few moments, it was silent. Orry thought that the dude hung up, but he could still feel that sibilant anger at the other end.

"It would wise for you not to meddle in my affairs, boy." spat the voice. The line went dead. Orry shut the phone, disbelief crowding his features.

"He's angry, isn't he?" asked Kat, looking up at him. She snatched her phone back. "Oh, God. I should have answered it."

"I think I'm in for some bad nightmares tonight." said Orry, pulling his hair out of it's ponytail and re-tying it, a habit he picked up for when he was nervous. Kat patted him on the back.

"Not as long as I'm sleeping in the room. He wouldn't dare." she said. Orry shot her a grateful look.

"What are we going to do...?" she whispered as they packed up their guitars.

"Nothing for now." said Orry, as he packed his cloak and mask up. They walked out to catch the bus home. "There's nothing much we can do unless we know more about this Phantom." Kat nodded.

"Stay with me..." she whispered, reaching across the seat to hold his hand. He jumped...and blushed slightly.

"Always."

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Shorter than my other chapters, I know! But please review and tell me what you think!!

BTW- I do know a guy who is exactly like Rocko...it's really interesting!


	8. Do Not Fear Me

Thank you for clicking into this story! It means so much!! So please read, enjoy and review! (_The review part is very important_.)

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Dedication: To drgn grl and Erika Daae. Fellow Christine haters! ...sorry, I just don't like her. I'm happy for you if you do...but...Yeah. I like to stab Christine.

--

Disclaimer: I own nothing Phantom of the Opera related or anything copy-righted by anyone. I no own, so you no sue.

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Katrina and Orry remained close to each other all afternoon and almost all evening. They even went to dinner at the local Cojean, grabbing roast vegetable sandwiches and fruit smoothies. They avoided spending too much time in the Opera House and when they had to, they spent it around people, hanging out in the tech room (a room with two tvs, a DVD player, a game system and a couple couches) with the other band members, laughing too loud, talking too much.

But soon...it would be lights out. They weren't safe after lights out. That's when the eyes watched from every direction and songs played through their minds and dreams. Their dreams weren't even theirs anymore. Shapes haunted the corridors of their minds and nightmares came to life. They talked about their plans in whispers when there was a lot of noise surrounding them and they decided to each go their separate rooms that night, that way they didn't raise suspicions. From either the Phantom or Madame Yowling. As they walked down the Halls after Yowling had yelled at the people in the tech room to go to bed, they felt their skin crawl as eyes watched them from the shadows.

Katrina parted from Orry as he entered his dorm. She felt him watching her was she walked back to her room, around a corner and out of sight. As Orry's eyes vanished from view, the presense of another grew thicker in the air. She felt her soul shudder as she heard soft strains of music. She hurried past the girl's dorms, soft rock playing from a stereo within. After she had passed, the music faded. So it had only been right there. Okay. She was good. Nothing was wrong. Nothing.

The eyes followed her.

She hurried into her room, shutting the door firmly. She leaned against the door for a moment, shaking slightly. What would he do when he realized what had happened? When he realized she knew who he really was? Erik, an Angel of Music. Erik, the Phantom of the Opera. Erik, a dream. Erik...a nightmare. She shakily set her coffee mug down on her desk and grabbed her shower caddy. She needed a shower. A hot one. Preferably a long one. But seeing as how lights out was in fifteen minutes...she'd be lucky to get seven minutes. She grabbed her towel, a change of clothes and her shower slippers before heading out of the door again.

Erik didn't follow her this time. He had planned this for quite a while, without the idea when to put it into action. Now he knew. Tonight was the night. She would be his. He didn't care what happened, as long as his Angel remained by his side. Forever, this time. He silently slipped from her closet, a small vial in his hands.

Nearly eight minutes later, Katrina came flip-flopping back to her room, grateful to not have eyes following her. Or watching her in the bathroom for that matter...a light blush covered her cheeks before she shook it off. That was disgustingly perverted of her....She entered her room cautiously. Nothing seemed to be amiss...which was a good thing. She put everything away, picking up her coffee cup again. She cuddled the familiar warm ceramic, sighing. Secretly, she was glad that the Opera House didn't have a chandelier now...She drained the rest of her coffee and set the mug down. She walked about, starting to pick up her stuff. These clothes were clean, these weren't. These shoes go over here next to the door, these pants in this drawer. What the heck was this candy wrapper doing out of the trash can?

As she tossed it back into the trashcan, she started feeling tired. Not just sleepy, but exhausted. The kind of tired where you suddenly just collapse. She yawned, her vision blurring slightly. Wow...she hadn't felt this tired in...like...ever. She stumbled over to her bed and managed to fall on it before her eyes closed. She didn't even hear her phone ring from the bedside table. She was asleep in seconds.

A pair of golden eyes moved from her closet to her bedside.

* * *

_Shadows...singing...moving_...the elements of her dreams that night seemed strange. They didn't make sense, not even when they were put together. She didn't even know if she were awake or asleep at times. Everything melded together in a strange hazy fog. Sometimes it even felt as if she were being carried by a pair of thin yet strong arms. She thought she had opened her eyes once to see a pair of golden eyes looking down at her as the ceiling moved overhead. Strange, bizarre dreams. That was it. No more coffee before bed for her.

She rolled over in her covers. It felt like it was almost time for her alarm to go off. Yes, it was time for it to go off. Why wasn't it going off? Where was her "_Time Warp_"? She rolled over again and opened her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. She blinked. What? Huh? She closed her eyes tightly and opened them again. The ceiling was still unfamiliar. She turned her head to look at the room. Alarms started going off in her head as her eyes widened. Not her desk. Not her closet. Not her chair. And not only that, everything was too freakin' neat! She bolted upright, staring at the bed she was laying on. Unknown bed! Completely unknown bed!! STRANGE BED!!

She rolled out of it so fast that when her feet hit the floor, they slipped and she almost fell. She saved herself by catching the back of a chair that was close by. She let go of it as soon as she was steady like it was white-hot metal. She hurried over to the door and yanked on the handle. It was locked. She stared at it for a few moments before yanking on it again. Still locked. What the bloody Hell? She was locked...in a strange room...only God knew where...and she was supposed to be on her way to school. She felt like screaming. Better not, though. She let go of the handle (_it wasn't coming unlocked anytime soon_), turned and stared about the room, studying it. First thing that hit her mind, it was a really nice room. Like one that you would find in a hotel. Nicely furnished and decorated, but without a personality of it's own, like a room assumes as a person lives in it for a while. There was a bed (_messy from her twisting and turning during sleep_), a desk with a few books and a stack of papers on it, a wardrobe leaning against a wall, a small vanity, a carpet. Now she could see that there was another door, on the other side of the room.

She steadied herself and walked over, trying this handle. This one opened. She very cautiously slid the door open, only to find a bathroom. Sink, shower, toilet, lots of fluffy towels. Rather normal, if also tasteful, as well. She closed the door. She had no immediate desire to use any of stuff within. She looked about the room again. There was something weird about this place...what was it? She stared about with confusion. What was wrong with this picture? It had everything a normal bedroom would have, if a touch more fancy and tasteful than she was used to. Her eyes scanned the walls, fingers twitching slightly. And why couldn't she see where she was? Normally, at this time of day, the sun would be up past the roof-tops of Paris and-

That was it. Her eyes flew along the walls again. She couldn't see the sky. She couldn't see the sun. She couldn't see Paris. There were no windows. Two doors, but no windows. No. Windows. _Dieu..._ Weird. Extremely freaking weird. She sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her eyes. Where was she? Was she even still in Paris? And to top it all off, she was hungry! She looked about, as if her surroundings had changed to give her a clue as to where to get something to eat. Nope. Nada. Not even a clue as to who owned this place. Come to think of it, whoever owned this place had ..._kidnapped_ her! She felt the bottom drop out of her stomach, which was feeling weird to begin with. She felt like she was going to be sick. The Patriots. It had to be them. They had somehow managed to sneak into the Opera House, grab her from her bedroom and take her somewhere where no doubt they were planning to do something really, really horrid for revenge.

Okay. Now she _was_ going to be sick. The door to the bathroom slammed and the sounds of her heaving were muffled by space and distance.

Erik looked up from the music that he was composing at his desk in the main cavern. He glanced towards her door. Ah, she was awake. And by the sound of it...being rather violently sick. He felt guilt twinge his conscience as he thought about the sedative he had slipped into her coffee the night before. It had been for her own good at the moment, but apparently she was allergic to it. Best use a different one next time...He stood fluidly and slipped his mask back on. He looked about his lair. It looked much like it had all those years ago. Fine fabrics were draped about, the mirrors were no longer broken, the dirt and grime that had accumulated over the years was gone, everything sparkled like new, candles glittered from their places about his organ and tables. He couldn't have his Angel residing in squalor, after all. He silently moved to her door, standing outside it for a moment.

_'Apologize for bringing her here. But be gentle. Shower her with attention. But be sincere. And above all...you must control your temper. Yes, good. Very good. Remember to be understanding. Apologize for the incident at the rock show. Be her Angel. Erik. Angel. Christine....Katrina. Angel. She is the Angel... Now. Knock.'_ But his hand wouldn't lift. He remained frozen outside her door. He couldn't do it. Damnation...

She opened the bathroom door again, face a touch paler with spots of high color in her cheeks. She couldn't remember the last time she had been that sick. Not even water could wash the taste away. She trembled slightly at the sight of her room, whoops, holding cell, the reminder that she was kidnapped and awaiting whatever tortures those Patriots could come up with. She would have been sick again at the mental images that brought up, but everything in her stomach was gone. She didn't want to collapse on the bed, no matter how inviting it was, she didn't want to give the wrong idea. She gingerly walked over and barely sat in the chair.

_'I guess I'm just going to have to wait.'_ she thought with dread. She really wasn't looking forward to what they had in mind. Maybe she could use something in here for a weapon...she let her eyes fly over the contents of the room again before a soft, almost timid knock sounded at the door. She felt all of her muscles tense up, ready to throw a punch, run or fight someone off. Her eyes slowly moved to the door, her heart pounding so loud and hard that she could actually hear it...

Was she alright? She hadn't answered. He must've knocked too softly. He raised his gloved hand once more and knocked again, this time a touch louder.

She felt her heart skitter in fright as another, louder knock sounded. What were they doing?! Knocking?! Like she was supposed to answer? They had the freakin' door locked!

He dithered silently outside her door. Why wasn't she answering? What was wrong? His hand reached for the knob, only to remember that he had locked it. Oh. Right. He pulled the small key out of his pocket.

There was a metallic click. They had unlocked the door. Oh, God. Oh _God_, they were coming in! She bolted from the chair to the other side of the bed, hiding with her head poking above the mattress at the door. At least now she was somewhat in a defensible position. Her eyes fell on some books on the desk nearby. The door swung open.

Erik pushed the door open only to duck at the last second from a book that was heaved at him. The heavy book flew past his head, flying into the lair and skidded along the floor until it came to rest on the other side of the room. He looked back in to see Katrina's eyes staring at him from behind the bed. They were large and frightened.

"Katrina. What on Earth-?"

"Erik? That's you, right?" she said, remaining hidden behind the bed.

"What-? Yes, yes, it's me." he said, taking one more step into the room. Another book was launched at his head. He barely ducked once more. "Katrina!"

"Don't you dare take one more step!" she ordered. Such was his surprise at being ordered about in his own home that he just stood there, rather stunned.

"_Excusez-moi...?_" he managed as Katrina stood up, eyes still wide with fright but also with a hint of anger about the edges.

"You don't move a muscle." she said. "This is all your doing, right? Me being here?" Erik nodded, keeping an eagle eye out for any more books headed his way. "How dare you?! _Mon Dieu!_ I'm supposed to be at school! Where are we? Where the freaking-?"

"Katrina, you haven't left the Opera House." he said quickly, hands ready to fly up and catch any other projectiles.

"Come again?" she said, a book in her hands again. If she was still within the Opera House, that meant...she had to be down in the old catacombs. She was actually in his lair...! Ohhh, not good.

"You have not left the Opera House. You are still in Paris and you are safe."

"About as safe as I can be in the Phantom of the Opera's clutches." she snapped, then quickly bit her lip. She didn't mean to spill that she knew who he was. He was so still. Not even the muscles in his hands were moving. The silence from him was almost too much to bear. The golden eyes blinked once. "Erik...."

The door silently closed behind him as he left. The silence was worse than any noise that he could have ever made. So much worse.

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Yes, I know it's short. But it's good. ^^ Review for me, please!! Please? Forgive me for not writing a longer chapter, but I like the shortness. It works. ^^

And for those who do not speak French...

_Mon Dieu = My God_

_Dieu = God_

_Excusez-moi = Excuse me_


	9. I Am Who I Am

It's been so long, and yet not long at all. I still hear his voice as he sings to me and I am beckoned back to the halls and labyrinth of the Opera House... I hope that my coming back has not been too delayed. I am sorry, my dear and loved readers. I will make this chapter something special, just for you...

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Dedicated: To my Sith Lord, the one who loves me with his soul and universe-eyes. To drgn grl who never stopped believing in my writing. And to all those who have supported me. Thank you. 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing Phantom of the Opera related or anything copy-righted by anyone. I no own, so you no sue.

* * *

"KATRINA!" Orry's strangled voice screamed as he slammed against her door for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning. The wood rattled in it's hinges, but it refused to budge from it's lock. He gave a strangled sob as he slid down the grains, to the floor. "KATRINA!" She was gone. Gone...

Finally, Hedgecliff and Yowling came running down the corridor, keys jingling in their hands. They had been searching for them ever since Orry's screams had awoken them all at around eight that morning. They had found them hidden in a crevice of the old chapel. It was now nearly ten. Yowling's face was pale and drawn as Hedgecliff's shaking hand shoved the key into the lock and twisted it. Orry slammed against the door again and this time, it burst open, cracking down the center of the wood.

The room was empty. There was an impression in her bed, the covers were pulled back. Liquid stains marked the pillow where she had drooled. A coffee cup was smashed to pieces on the floor, the broken shards emitting a strange odor.

"He got her..." Orry moaned, sinking to his knees. "How? How?" He bellowed, leaping up and starting to rend the room and belongings, throwing them recklessly. "We were so damn careful!" His foot slipped in the puddle about her shower flops and he fell. Landing hard, he just sat there as Yowling and Hedgecliff just stared in shock and fear. He took a few deep breaths and his wandering fingers found the broken coffee mug. He picked up a piece.

"What's this smell?" He muttered, sniffing at the liquid remnants clinging to it. "It's weird."

Hedgecliff stalked over and repeated what Orry had done. "Funny." He observed. "It smells like my coffee did when I took ill that one time..."

"Drugged." Orry's head snapped up and he looked about desperately. "She locked herself in here, how did she get out without being seen?" He started to go through the room again, this time much more carefully, fingers feeling about for slight pressure changes in the walls, feet feeling for trap-doors in the floor. "There has to be a secret passage around here somewhere!" He pounded the wall. "Katrina!"

* * *

Katrina lifted her head, hair falling about her face. She looked towards the door. Music...soft organ notes dropped like diamonds under the door. It had been far too quiet for far too long...She stood shakily, creeping closer to the door. She very, very, VERY carefully opened the latch on her door. She put her ear to the crack, desperate to hear the soothing sweet tones that she was so used to. But that wasn't what caressed her ears.

In her mind's eye, as the music swirled and twirled, she saw two figures of red meld forward. Slowly they took shapes of humans, one male. One female. They began to dance, apart at first, then slowly moving closer and closer together until there was no space between them...Her heart beat faster as the figures kissed passionately as they dissolved into flames that spread across her mind. Her eyes snapped open as the music stopped. She mourned, tears pricking sharply at her eyes. She raised a hand to wipe them away.

Then the music started again. This time, harsh and angry, sharp and stabbing. She clapped her hands over her ears, trying to block out the stabbing notes. But the music was merciless, pounding, pounding, like pianos falling from the sky and crashing to the ground. She didn't know how long it lasted, but when the notes finally left her alone and faded into the reverberating air, she was left in a small ball on the floor of her room, whimpering, face tear-stained.

There was finally silence.

She stayed where she was, scared to death now. She heard footsteps. The doorknob turned. And Erik opened her door.

"You heard?" He asked, eyes almost completely cold.

All she could do was nod.

"What did you think?"

She opened her mouth, but closed it again.

"You didn't like it." Was she imaging the perverse satisfaction in his voice. She shook her head.

"Erik-"

"Oh, so it's Erik now?" She shuddered at the icicles falling down her neck.

"You've always been-"

"Don't play _stupid_." He spat. "You know who I was now. You have become blind once more, Katrina. Have I taught you nothing?"

She cowered under his scathing words. It was true, she was biased now that she knew that he was the Phantom of the Opera. And yet, his voice was still Erik.

"But who are you, really?" She heard herself ask. "The same man who kidnaps singers to make them fall in love with him?" She looked up and locked eyes with the burning gaze that had watched her for months. "Or the man who sings to me and comforts me and makes me believe that I'm worth something?"

He stared into her eyes, silent.

She stood up.

* * *

Orry kept pressing his fingers against the wood of the walls, nearly mad with his panic and worry. "Where are you?" He demanded of the secret passageway. "Where the hell are you?"

Yowling kept herself back, looking over everything in hopes that somehow, a clue would appear. She brushed aside CD's on Katrina's messy desk and found a note, folded delicately with a seal of a red skull upon it. She slowly picked it up and read the address on it.

"_To the Fool who Tries to Follow_..." She turned to Orry. "I found this."

He stumbled over, tripping over the boots and stuffed bears on the floor. "What is it?"

"A note." She pulled the seal off and started to unfold the note. The slowness of the unfolding nearly made Orry loose his mind. He was screaming inside as she finally opened it completely. "_Dear Orry_..." His stomach dropped. "_Does it surprise you that I know your name? I know everything about you, boy. Your hopes, your dreams, your fears, your screams. You are unworthy. I have ascended with Katrina to a place among the Angels, where she belongs. Seek her not, else a disaster will fall, far more beyond your imaging than you could fathom. My Angel is now with me and you WILL NOT SEEK HER. Farewell, boy. -OG._"

Orry shook where he stood. Yowling looked up at him, taking in his white face, his white knuckles. "What do you plan on doing?"

Orry took a deep breath. "It's just like the past, isn't it?" Yowling watched him. "The past is playing out again. I'm going." He turned and walked out of his room.

Yowling let the note fall to the floor. "Permettez à l'avenir pas de refléter le passé..."

* * *

Erik stepped closer to Katrina. He stared into her eyes, into those orbs that could make him melt and obey her very wish. This time, he tried to steel himself against those eyes and look past them, into her soul. She didn't even tremble as she stepped closer to him. Her hair needed re-dying, he thought absently. The brilliant purple was fading. He let her come even closer, staring deep into her eyes.

Who was he...? The mask reminded him, the cold plaster against his hot skin. He felt his hand lift and hover near her hair. She didn't move. "I am who I am." He responded, his gloved fingers slowly touching her hair. She took his hand in hers almost instantly.

"But who is that?" She asked, slowly taking off his glove. His heart sped up as the patent leather left his fingers. She placed the glove to the side, holding his naked spider hand in her own small perfect one (with the sparkling black nail-polish). "Who is the man before me?" Her questions reminded him too much of his Angel past, with her questions.

"I am who I am." He answered more forcefully, trying to pull his hand back. She kept hold of it, still staring up into his face.

"Erik..." She whispered, almost...huskily...into the air. "Or the Phantom?"

He felt...excited. "Can I not be both?"

"No." She stated calmly, gently removing the other glove from his hand. "Choose one."

His heart increased speed. How dare she give HIM a choice? As if she could decide his fate, just like that? Just like...he tried to make Christine decide her own...

Katrina held his hands in her own, heart thudding hard. She was so scared, she wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do. His eyes kept boring into hers, even as she stared back. He pierced through her will, right into her soul. She felt him explore her mind, explore her heart...yet she let him. His fingers moved, entwining with her own. They were cold, almost icy, yet she held onto them.

"Erik." She said quietly. He blinked and nodded to her.

"Yes...I am Erik."

* * *

Orry strapped his boots tight and stood. "I'm going to do this." He muttered, walking down the hallways and through the maze of doors. "I have to do this." He opened the dressing room door, walking through the dust and cobwebs. How many weeks had it been since they sang that ill-fated song and brought him back? He pulled the mirror back and stepped through to the moldy passageway. "I'm coming, Kat..." He whispered into the dark. "Keep your hand at the level of your eyes..."

* * *

Kat was spell-bound as Erik's eyes smiled at her, at last. His smile wove itself into her mind and ensnared her senses. His fingers wound into her hair and pulled her close, breathing deeply her own sweet scent. She could feel his heart beating against her cheek.

"Katrina..." He sang quietly. Thrills ran down her spine to her toes, her cheeks heating in response to the longing in his voice. She could definitely understand how Christine had lost her mind and heart to this...if he sang her name like that one more time...

He slowly released her, fingers ghosting down her face, relishing every single detail. She shivered lightly, a smile playing on her lips. He wanted to take those lips, gently, possessively, show her how a real man kisses...

Her heart pounded as his hand circled around the back of her head and gently pulled her closer as he bent. Music exploded in her mind as his lips met hers. Swooping, soaring notes swirled about as her heart picked up speed almost painfully. He was such a gentle kisser! She felt her own lips respond as she kissed him back...The kiss became hotter as he pressed her closer and became more demanding. She wrapped her arms about his neck as they kissed deeper.

This was frightening and yet so right...He felt his fingers tighten in her hair as she responded to his kiss, to his love and passion. Finally, dreams were flesh and music was life again...

He gently pulled back. "There is always the danger of too much of a good thing..." He playfully teased as he watched her blush, cheeks flushed, panting very lightly for breath. "But there will be more..." She blushed brighter. "Far more."

She giggled, embarrassed. "Erik, that was..." She laughed. "You're surprisingly good..."

He laughed, taking her hand and leading her up to a lounge where cushions were piled high, near his organ. "Please, Katrina, make yourself comfortable." She snuggled down into the cushions, smiling. "I shall play for you."

He made his way over to the organ and lightly ran his naked fingers over it. Perhaps a love ballad from Ireland? Or a sonnet? No...he knew just the aria to play...from one of his own compositions...

_Don Juan Triumphant._


	10. But Who is She?

I apologize for the long wait again. It's been insane out here. But here's the latest chapter. I think that there will only be one more chapter after this. I'll see.

This is dedicated to drgn grl and to being an independent woman who doesn't need a man. (Funny thing to put in a romance story, I know.)

* * *

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Don't sue me.

* * *

Orry cursed as he stumbled for the hundredth time as he made his way down the crumbling stairs. His torch was growing dim and he was getting tired of rushing down the stairs only to stumble and nearly fall to his death. How many times had he told himself to go slower, both for his safety and Katrina's safety? But no matter what his brain said, his feet rushed ahead of him. They weren't listening to him. Neither was his heart. His heart was crying and screaming and raging against his chest, fighting to get out and to rush to Katrina's side. He loved her. He did.

He slid down the old stone steps again, yelping as his tail-bone struck against a particularly unforgiving stone. He'd better love her, putting up with all this. If he didn't love her, why would he be risking his neck down here? He stood back up and made himself stop trying to rush down the stairs. He stepped to the side and sat on the edge of the banister. He set the pack at his feet and fought to catch his breath. He wouldn't get anywhere like this...Katrina was counting on him.

Katrina. God, how long had it been? Years. She had been fourteen when she had first come to the Opera House and the J.O.P training school. She had always been different. With her different fashions, her different attitudes and her different ideas. She never slept in the dorms after her first week. She hated the other J.O.P girls with a passion and refused to spend "_another sleepless night listening to the prattle of the cattle_". She had moved into that disused closet and the company had let her. Even he had thought her weird at first. She always had different colored hair and seemed to prefer her solitude to any company. The only person she really talked to was the flamboyantly gay cook. She listened to strange music and sang without caring if anyone heard her or not. She was content to tech for the productions and was thrilled to get a part, any part in the plays.

Then Liana had befriended her by accident. They had been mortal enemies up until the day that Katrina had yanked Liana out of the way of a speeding taxi and Liana had glomped onto her and had sworn to never hate her again. Then they found they had more in common than not. He had been dating Liana at the time...worst relationship choice of his life. But she had been beautiful and they had looked good together. Then they all started hanging out. Slowly, they accepted her into their circle. Liana, JT and him. A fourth member was added and she never left. Katrina. She was there for both him and Liana when they had broken up badly. She was there for JT when he came out of the closet. She was there for the plays, the drama, the tears and the laughs. She had become a huge staple in their..._his_ life...

His heart banged uncomfortably as he stood up again. He wanted to run to her. He wanted to be there for her as she had always been there for him. He shouldered his bag and started back down the steps, his eyes automatically watching the ground as he walked and thought. But as much as she had been there for him...he didn't know much about her. Like...why she always dyed her hair different colors. Why she liked purple so much. Why she preferred songs by bands that no-one really knew. Why her family had only visited a few times. Why she was so different yet so peaceful with being herself. Why...why? Why didn't he know? She talked so much. ...and yet said so little. Like-

He was interrupted as the floor suddenly went out from under him. And he fell down into blackness.

* * *

Katrina closed her eyes and listened as Erik started to play for her. The notes climbed higher and higher, as if ascending to heaven. She could almost hear the triumphant trumpets welcoming home the tired angels who had been working so hard down on Earth, trapped for centuries. Now they were coming home and were to be given all the pleasures that they had been denied...The music took her higher and higher, leaving tingles across her skin as if brushed by the tenderest of fingers. She was safe from pain and truth and choice...and other poisoned devils saying, _"We don't give a f-ck about you..."_. Like he did...

She was being caressed all over by the warmest, most caring hands. She felt her soul get lifted up, higher than the clouds. This was her domain, here she was a goddess, worshiped by angels. Throw away the limitations, here they didn't care. They were accepting. Be yourself. Burn your bridges. Forget all other light except this heavenly wonderfulness that was the music that Erik created.

For music was the magic. The magic was music. And Erik was the center of it all. Deep in the music, she opened her eyes and looked at the man playing the organ. He was just as lost to the music, his eyes closed. He was playing from memory, playing from the heart, playing from the very soul that she had come to know.

She stood up off the couch. He still played, lending that angel voice to the cords. She walked as if in a trance to him. She stood next to this angel at the organ. The music changed, became completely different. She opened her mouth and suddenly words poured out of her mouth, singing to the music...

_"Never truly abandoned. Never really forgotten. Never quite perfect but the words speak true. Art never dies - just sleeps awhile _  
_in hearts and minds until dim embers blaze into a roaring inferno that consumes minds to Muse._"

Erik picked up where Katrina's beautiful notes faded and his voice rang out, "_To Muse, to dream...to feel the music swell within your breast. Love never dies - just slumbers for years in shuddering hearts. Love still rings as true as the day it was first conceived in the forbidden place..."_

Katrina sang out as he finished his part, feeling her heart pick up it's pace. "_The dance is never done, the music never fades. All you need do is move once more to the beat of your own heart...Never truly abandoned, never really forgotten...never quite so perfect, yet the words ring true!_"

The piano stopped playing, the Phantom stood. He wrapped his arms about his Angel and looked into her eyes as he sang just for her, "_Let the love rise again! Let the heartbeats ring out their own pure melody. Let the Angels weep at the glory of the Heaven within Hell! Art, love, purest feelings of all!__"_

Katrina wrapped her own arms about him as they sang out together, their voices blending so beautifully..."_Let the phoenix of Muses rise! Let the colors of the heart bleed together to create a new and yes, quite so perfect, forever dancing, forever beating, forever flying love! Dying embers once more blaze into the all-consuming inferno...!_"

Their lips met. He was lost to the intoxicating venom that was Katrina and she was lost to the swirling music that was Erik. They held onto each other gently, his naked fingers embedded in her purple hair, her hands locked about his thin neck. He felt her heart beat, he felt her quiver as he consumed her with his kiss and she felt his passionate soul leak from him into her. She gasped for breath, loving the light-headed joy that he could give her. He wanted more of her. To feel more. No more barriers. With an impassioned movement, he pulled his mask away.

"Erik-!"

* * *

Orry fell hard onto the stone floor. He instantly knew that something had broken. The snap had been loud. He swiftly rolled over, onto his stomach and quickly sat up. No, not his back. No, not his legs or arms. His wrists were fine. Not his neck. Not his skull. He checked over each and every rib before dismissing them. Then he realized what had broken. His flashlight. "Dammit!" He cursed, throwing away the now useless torch. Where was he?

He looked about, it was too dark to see anything. Far above him, he heard the trapdoor that he had fallen through slam shut. The darkness was a complete darkness that made him think that he was seeing things. Things swinging, things stalking in the dark. He heard something, like the rustling of old papers. He closed his eyes and started to gingerly walk forward.

He tested each footstep out with the very tips of his toes before he set his foot down. His hands were outstretched on either side of him, occasionally sweeping in front of him to be sure that there were no lassos about to hook about his neck. For each step he took it was new relief and new terror. He didn't know what to expect.

The rustling grew louder and louder. What was it?

Suddenly the lights snapped on. He howled as the light pierced his sensitive eyes and he fell to his knees, covering his eyes. The rustling suddenly exploded and he knew what it was. Wings. Insect wings. He forced his eyes open to see hundreds of locusts filling the room. Huge locusts with buzzing wings and he felt himself start to shut down, his mind reeling and panicking. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't- His eyes registered a door at the other end of the room, not ten feet from him, near the center of the room. But the room was filling quickly. Locusts were getting closer and the noise was getting louder.

Orry felt himself be sick, he felt his mind shut even further down. He couldn't handle this, he couldn't-

'_Are they really so bad, Orry?'_ Kat... '_They're not gonna hurt you. Yeah, they're gross, but they can't hurt you.'_

Orry blinked hard and closed his eyes. Kat was right. They couldn't hurt him. Yeah, they were big. Yeah, they were flying. But she needed him and he needed to go to her. If he gave in now...the Phantom would win. Orry wasn't about to let that happen. He steeled himself as he felt the feet of the locusts landing on his arms and hair and clothes...and leaped up, charging for the door. He slammed into the door at full speed and it smashed open. He slammed it shut again and began the hop-skip dance of "GET THESE THINGS OFF ME!". Shaking the last of the locusts from his backpack, he smashed them flat with the heel of his boot. That was satisfying.

He shouldered his backpack again and looked down the hallway. It was lit with torches, the flames blackening the walls. He narrowed his eyes and set off in the direction that went down.

"Is that the best you can do?" He asked the empty air.

* * *

Erik clutched his hands over his face, looking away from the eyes of his Angel. What had he done? She had seen. He had let her see. Why? What was she thinking? Katrina, don't leave, don't look away, don't leave me, don't look at me, don't look away, please...! He glanced through his fingers to see her still standing there where he had let go of her in a panic. She was looking at him with a mixture of disappointment and curiosity.

"Erik..." She said gently, stepping towards him.

"No!" He barked, stumbling backwards. "Stay away!"

She crossed the space between them quickly and grabbed his arm. "Erik, it's okay!"

"Don't look at me! Don't look at this monster! Don't look at me!" He cried, twisting his deformed face away from her. "I don't want you to see!"

She gently touched his arm, his shoulder, his neck, his hair. "Erik, please. It's okay. You can look at me, I'm not going anywhere." He gave a broken sob and her heart broke. She slowly reached out and turned his face towards hers. He couldn't meet her eyes as she turned his face. His fingers tightened on his visage, trembling. "Uh-uh, Erik." She took his skeleton fingers in her own. "Let me see." And slowly, slowly, so slowly that it hurt, she pulled his fingers away from his face.

Suddenly she was holding his hands and she was looking at him. Just looking. He quailed, he quaked. "Katrina..."

"It's okay, Erik." She looked him dead on, never turning her eyes. "You're okay."

He blinked. "But...you can see-"

"Mhmm. I can see you." She said factually. "And I'm not afraid." She let go of one of his hands to touch his death's face, running her fingers lightly over his dead skin, her fingers tenderly touched his hollow nose, her eyes never leaving his sunken ones. "You're okay, Erik. It's okay."

And it was. ...Strange. But it was. "_Angel.._." He sang quietly, feeling the sting of the salty tears at the corner of his eyes. "Why are you here?"

"Because I'm here." She said simply, nodding to him. "I'm here and you need me."

The simplicity of the statement broke him down. He gathered her into his arms, held her tight. The acceptance was almost too much to bear. The heart of her was too big for him...she was too much. How could he hope to have her stay with him? To be there with him for all eternity? She was too much light, too much joy. How could he repay her, love her properly? He looked down into her eyes and saw everything that he had ever wanted from his past Angel to give to him. "Katrina...who are you?"

* * *

Orry had finally reached the end of the passageway. It was a door. He tried the handle and it was unlocked. He swung it open and looked into the small room. It was much smaller than the other one had been. It was dimly lit and he could see a strange ledge high above the ground, there seemed to be an opening up there. Leading off down another passageway.

He stepped into the room, cautious as always. The door slammed behind him and he heard a gurgling. The floor suddenly seemed to explode with water. The very walls leaked it. The room started filling up fast. It was already up to his knees. He splash-ran over to the floor beneath the ledge and jumped with all his considerable strength and height, yet he couldn't reach the ledge. Then he saw the grate lowering. The water was up to his thighs. The grate lowered slowly.

"He's trying to drown me." Orry realized angrily. The water was rising faster and faster and the grate was lowering still. If he could just manage...no, he wouldn't be able to squeeze through the space under the grate and get onto the ledge. Wait, the grate was lowering slower than the room was filling with water. Maybe...yes!

The water filled up past his waist and climbed up past his stomach, towards his chest. He calculated. At the rate that the water was rising and the rate that the grate was lowering, he should be able to squeeze through. This was heavy though. Why was it so heavy? He struggled to keep his head above water as the liquid surged. He was being dragged down...he was going to miss his opening! No! He fought, but his backpack was too heavy for him to just take off now. Everything in it was water-logged and it was dragging him underneath the water. He pulled his pocket-knife out and slashed through the straps.

The pack floated off and Orry kicked and pulled himself through the water. It was close, could he still-? YES! He slipped underneath the grate unto the ledge. He breathed a sigh of relief as he sat on that ledge and let the water build up a little more, watching the grate slowly winch down. If he was still under that...he shuddered, before standing and pocketing his knife.

"I'm still coming." He said quietly as he walked through the opening into the corridor. "Bring it on."

* * *

Katrina was confused. "Huh?"

"Who are you?" Erik asked again, slowly sweeping her up into his arms. "You are so different, Katrina..."

"Different?" She wondered. "Different how?"

"Your mind, your heart, your soul, your voice. It is all so different..."

She fell silent. Why was she so different from Christine, is what he meant. Why wasn't she some silly prattling girl who didn't know a hawk from a handsaw. "For one thing, I'm me. I spent a long time getting to know me, getting to know all about me. Why shouldn't I love who I am?" She slipped down out of his arms. He ached to hold her warmth again. He reached out but she held up a hand and stayed him. "The second thing, I hate being the same. I hate blending in. I want to stand out. I want to be different." She started to walk. He followed her as she wandered the steps and haunts of his lair. "If you're different...people remember your name. People remember who you are."

He nodded. "I underst-"

"No, you don't understand." She snapped. He paused. She _snapped_ at him. At him! "No-one does! Katrina this, Katrina that, Katrina follow the rules, Katrina stop being weird, Katrina learn to get along with people, Katrina be _normal_. NO!"

Erik was stunned. He had never heard Katrina speak like this. ...about herself.

"No-one ever gets it!" she shouted, starting to lose her cool. "I'm different, so what? Why can't I be loved for who I am instead of what people want me to be?"

"Katrina-"

"SHUT IT!" He fell silent, eyes starting to glow. "You-_YOU_ want me to be like CHRISTINE!" The name was screamed into the air. His form trembled. "Pretty, perfect, lovely, talented, hopeless, worthless, pitiless CHRISTINE DAAE!" She whirled about to face him and he thought that purple hair had never been more frightening. "Well, Erik, I've got news for you. I'm. NOT. CHRISTINE."

"I know that-"

"Yet you want me to take her place! To be _her_! I'm me!" She yelled, trying to fight back tears. "I thought we had something special, Erik. But no. You just want me to take her place as your _Angel_." She gestured to the lair. "This is where you brought her. This is where you haunt. This is where the memory stays." She reached up and brought a red velvet curtain crashing down, revealing the alcove that had been hidden. The mocking mannequin of Christine...still in the wedding dress...everything from her. That rose he had brought her. That ribbon from her hair. The statues and paintings and compositions...they flooded out at the curtains feet. At Katrina's feet. "I'm no Angel."

"No...you're a devil." He snarled, his fury bubbling over at the images, memories, haunting notes and haunting smiles mocking him. "You're a devil!" He stormed up to her, his hand raised. "How dare you disrespect my property and my privacy!"

"Don't you know better than to take something that's not yours?" She shouted back, not cowering back from his fury.

"YOU ARE MINE!"

"I AM NO-ONE'S!" She screamed, her own hand slapping him soundly across the face. "I don't _belong _to you!"

He grabbed her hands and forced them down against her sides, his haunted eyes staring directly into her own. "Vous êtes un démon, salope! Je vous ai fait,enfant ingrat!"

"Je vous laisse, Erik! Je suis moi-même et c'est tout ce que je serai toujours!" She shouted back, her beautiful lips pulled back in an angry scowl.

There was a moment, angry and misunderstood...then their lips crashed together, his arms wrapping about her too tight, her hands digging too painfully into his back. He slammed her against a wall, ignoring the cry that was forced from her lips and he pressed himself against this infuriating, confusing, magnificent demon that he...God, her smell-! His kiss was hard and demanding, but she gave no inch, kissing him just as hard and dragging her nails down his back. His hands were about to grab onto her tightly when alarm bells started going off.

* * *

_*Translation* _

_"Vous êtes un démon, salope! Je vous ai fait,enfant ingrat!" = "You are a demon, b*tch! I made you, ungrateful child!"_

_"Je vous laisse, Erik! Je suis moi-même et c'est tout ce que je serai toujours!" = "I let you, Erik! I am myself and that's all I ever will be!"_


End file.
